Skip to the word

Added 10 October 2026

ponce

/pɒns/ noun

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about ponce at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A man who is effeminate in his manner and fussy in the way he dresses.
Someone who procures customers for whores (in England they call a pimp a ponce).

Origin

Uncertain, but probably an aphetic form of French alphonse (“kept man”), from the male given name Alphonse. Also sometimes connected to pounce or French pensionnaire (“pensioner, person living without working”).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

Back to today's word