pookie

noun

poo·​kie ˈpü-kē 

plural pookies

1

often Pookie

—used as a term of endearment

It's so embarrassing, the cutesy pet names adult lovers adopt. I called her 'pookie' …

—David McGimpsey

I love you, Pookie, I love you, he says—and in the darkness I know he is smiling.

—Gloria Vanderbilt

2

: someone who is adored or loved

That's my pookie. That's my little grandbaby.

—Patti LaBelle, quoted at NBCNews.com

often, specifically : a romantic partner

The unsafe drivers are the ones … texting their pookie …

—Robert B. Trsek

Word History

Etymology

earlier as name or nickname, perhaps of sound-symbolic origin

Note: Compare -poo as a hypocoristic suffix usually added to names ending in -ie or -y. Compare also Irish púca "goblin, sprite," akin to puck entry 2.

First Known Use

1962, in the meaning defined at sense 1