uke

[yook]

noun Informal.

Origin of uke

by shortening

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

But Judy, can you imagine my uke sounding weird strains, under windows and behind closet doors?
Jane Allen: Center
Edith Bancroft
Personally, I feel I should have to use a can opener, but you know how popular the uke is now, Janie.
Jane Allen: Center
Edith Bancroft
Uke causes still produce like effects; in the same manner as in the mutual action of the elements and powers of nature.
A Treatise of Human Nature
David Hume

short for ukulele, by 1915.