Okie
1[ oh-kee ]
/ ˈoʊ ki /
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
1Usage 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.
Definition for okie (2 of 2)
Okie
2[ oh-kee ]
/ ˈoʊ ki /
noun
a contemptuous term used to refer to a native of Okinawa.
adjective
belonging to the Okinawan people.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
British Dictionary definitions for okie
Okie
/ (ˈəʊkɪ) /
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]
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper