Okie

¹ American  

[oh-kee] / ˈoʊ ki /

noun

Slang: Usually Disparaging and Offensive.

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

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

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Okie ² American  

[oh-kee] / ˈoʊ ki /

noun

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

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adjective

1. belonging to the Okinawan people.

Okie British  

/ ˈəʊkɪ /

noun

1. an inhabitant of Oklahoma

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

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Sensitive Note

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

Etymology

Origin of Okie¹

First recorded in 1915–20; Ok(lahoma) + -ie

Origin of Okie²

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

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Okie

For Okie, who grew up in Georgia and whose father worked as a peach breeder for the USDA, the looming loss of the state's symbolic fruit evokes a sort of weariness.

From Salon ● Aug. 9, 2023

Dec. 30 at 7 and 10:30 p.m. and Dec. 31 at 7 and 11 p.m. at City Winery, 1350 Okie St. NE. citywinery.com. $50-$85.

From Washington Post ● Dec. 21, 2022

Bryan might be a proud red dirt Okie, but the songs that have become one of music’s biggest stories this year developed here, deep in the heart of moss country.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 26, 2022

To merely say “white people” would have downplayed the history, because the Okie experience in Los Angeles was distinct from other white Americans in the region like, say, Midwesterners or Southerners.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2022

Which provoked Jerry G., who was constantly having to turn half-around and bark “Shhh!” or order them, in his puritanical Okie voice, to “please pipe down back there, will you?”

From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols