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

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

Nov. 20 at 7:30 p.m. at City Winery, 1350 Okie St. NE. citywinery.com. $35-$55.

From Washington Post • Nov. 16, 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

Doc — “I’m an Okie, California improved” — from the Bakersfield Shriners.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 1, 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