Honky
early 20th century (in sense ‘immigrant from central or eastern Europe’): of uncertain origin; perhaps related to bohunk.
wiktionary
Sense of “factory hand” attested from 1946. Compare hunky, bohunk.
Term of racial abuse attested 1967, most likely from hunky(“Hungarian, Slav, eastern European; any white person”), an African-American vernacular shortening of Hungarian. [1] Another possible etymon is Wolof xonq(“red, pink”), a term frequently used in African languages to describe white men. [2]
etymonline
honky (n.)
also honkey, derogatory word for "white person," by 1967, African-American vernacular, of unknown origin, perhaps from late 19c. hunky "East-Central European immigrant," which probably is a colloquial shortening of Hungarian (compare hunk (n.2)). Honky in the sense of "factory hand" is attested by 1946 in blues slang. A connection to honky-tonk also is possible.
