Often mistaken as a negative term for white people, (such as nigger for blacks) but it is not. When the white man came to get a slave in the old days, he would drive up in his truck and signal the slave owner by honking his horn, thus the slaves would call them 'honkey'.
White people are not offended by this term.

insult to white people. same as whitey and cracker, but no white person is offended by these words no matter who is saying them. unless u call a wigger a honkey. then they get pissed.

Racist name simular to "cracker" or "whitey"

the scum of the earth; a perpetual liar; a deranged monkey with delusions of grandeur.

Term for caucasian. Derogatory.
Origin unknown for certain.
Possibly derived from the Wolof word "xonk" (pronounced like "honk," but with a guttural H at the beginning), meaning "red." Wolof people in West Africa sometimes call white people "xonk-nopp," or "red-ears." It has been speculated that first generation Wolof-speaking slaves may have popularized this term.

Skeptics might point out that the most slaves came from south-west Africa and further east in West-Africa than Senegal, where Wolof people live.

However, many slaves passed through Goree' Island, near Dakar, the largest Wolof city. So the term could have been popularized there.
Also, the Wolof language, having developed as a trade language, is relatively easy to pick up in its most basic form. It is also a rather staccato and crisp language, which might make it easier for non-speakers to pick up on particular words. Lastly, Wolof is spoken in a way that seems unnecessarily aggressive, even when its not intended to be. (The Wolof are sometimes referred to as the "Germans of Africa") This all might tend to make make a derogatory Wolof word catch on relatively faster than a similar Mandink or Ibo word among a multilingual group like first generation slaves.

racist name for a white person, but be careful when using this word because he will act brave until you slap the shit out of the white sissy but then he will call the police on you which are more honkeys but with guns.

Derogatory word for people of Caucasian (or white) descent.

Originated post-slavery era when white men started "seeing" black women on the other side of town, instead of getting out of their cars to meet the girl at the door, they'd stay in their cars and "HONK" meanwhile the family inside would hear and say to the girl "your Honkey's out there"

yet no white person ever known has been offended by any of these words.

David Letterman.