Okie

[oh-kee]

noun Slang: Usually Disparaging and Offensive.

a term used to refer to a migrant farm worker from Oklahoma or nearby states, especially one who moved westward during the Great Depression.

a term used to refer to a native or inhabitant of Oklahoma.

Origin of Okie

First recorded in 1930–35; Ok(lahoma) + -ie

Usage note

In historical contexts, Okie is usually used with disparaging intent and perceived as insulting, implying that the migrant worker is homeless, poor, ignorant, and uneducated. But as a nickname for an Oklahoman, Okie is sometimes appropriated as a positive term of self-reference.

Okie

[oh-kee]Slang: Disparaging and Offensive.

noun

a contemptuous term used to refer to a native of Okinawa.

adjective

belonging to the Okinawan people.

Origin of Okie

First recorded in 1935–40; Ok(inawa) + -ie

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for okie

Contemporary Examples of okie

When do you arrive in this favorite land of yours for you Okie junket?
Leonard Bernstein Asked About Hemingway, So Martha Gellhorn Set the Record Straight
Leonard Bernstein, Martha Gellhorn
October 27, 2013
“Okie From Muskogee” made fun of hippies and extolled small-town virtues, but it did it with some tongue in cheek.
Vince Gill Confronts Fringe Groups and Gives Country Some Cred
Malcolm Jones
September 11, 2013

Historical Examples of okie

"Listen, you guys," Okie pounded his fat finger into Sartan's chest.
Jubilation, U.S.A.
G. L. Vandenburg
Okie took the piece between his fingers, examined it and frowned.
Jubilation, U.S.A.
G. L. Vandenburg
Okie lit out from behind the bar and elbowed his way through the crowd.
Jubilation, U.S.A.
G. L. Vandenburg
Okie, the proprietor, was on duty readying the place for the night shift.
Jubilation, U.S.A.
G. L. Vandenburg
Okie arbitrarily judged the gold piece to be worth ten dollars.
Jubilation, U.S.A.
G. L. Vandenburg

British Dictionary definitions for okie

Okie

noun US slang, sometimes offensive

an inhabitant of Oklahoma

an impoverished migrant farm worker, esp one who left Oklahoma during the Depression of the 1930s to work elsewhere in the US

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for okie

Okie

"migrant agricultural worker," especially one driven from farms in Oklahoma during the Dust Bowl, 1938, short for U.S. state of Oklahoma.

"Okie use' ta mean you was from Oklahoma. Now it means you're a dirty son-of-a-bitch." [John Steinbeck, "The Grapes of Wrath," 1939]