It’s all the fault of homieness. I found myself wanting to convey the homey qualities of a story I had read, and I was thoroughly confused as to its proper spelling. Naturally, one thought led to another . . . and thereby a kingdom was lost . . . oops, getting caught up again . . . and I became intrigued with the possibilities of a homie having a homieness as well . . .isn’t that a curious concept . . .!
Word Confusions . . .
. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.
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| Homey | Homie |
|---|---|
 — |
 — |
| Part of Grammar: | |
| Adjective 1 Noun 2 Plural for noun: homeys, homies Alternative spelling: homy |
Noun
Plural for noun: homeys, homies Alternative spelling: homey |
| Adjective: A feeling of home 1 [Of a place or surroundings] Pleasantly comfortable and cozy
Homelike Noun: [New Zealand; informal] A British person |
[Chiefly US; informal] Show the greatness of the kind of friend you are to another person
Acquaintance from one’s town or neighborhood Member of one’s peer group or gang [Slang, mainly US] Short for homeboy or homegirl |
| Examples: | |
| This space just feels so homey.
There is such a homeyness to that house. He my homey, he take care of it for me. |
He’s my homey.
He my homie, he take care of it for me. |
| Derivatives: | |
| Adjective: homier, homiest Noun: homeyness, hominess |
|
| History of the Word: | |
|
Derived from homeboy which was first used in the early 1900s.
Some sites claim Blacks first originated the word while others claim it was first used by Mexican Americans in East L.A. |
C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!
Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.
Resources for Homey versus Homie
Merriam-Webster: homey
Urban Dictionary.com
Pinterest Photo Credits:
Friends Central Perk by brad_holt is under the CC BY 2.0 with homie represented by Chris Brown by Eva Rinaldi Celebrity and Live Music Photographer under the CC BY-SA 2.0 license. Both are via VisualHunt.
Revised as of 13 Apr 2024
By: Kathy Davie