oke, noun

/əʊk/
Forms:
Also ouk.
Origin:
Shortened form of okie.
colloquial
1. ou noun sense 1 a. See also okie.
1970 R. Van der Merwe Informant, Beaufort West, Western CapeWho is that oke talking to your sister?
1972 Rhodeo (Rhodes Univ.) 23 Mar. 5Me and the ouks, like, every night get some chicks and look for a fight.
1977 L. Abrahams Celibacy of Felix Greenspan 46You’ve got my promise in front of all these okes as witnesses.
1982 Sunday Times 6 June (Mag. Sect.)I quickly suss that the taxi-driver oke..is taking his cherrie..for a ‘hoddog’ and chips.
1988 South 21 July 16As far as this ouk is concerned, he has the unique power of telling us what we all know are the dominant white perceptions of people like Tutu and Mandela.
1989 H.P. Toffoli in Style Dec. 94Oke is A) What snoek is smoked in. B) Someone who fixes your Fiat. C) Usually somewhere near a Lion.
1991 Sunday Times 7 Apr. 26At top level, the okes (and the meisies) all throw so straight they keep cancelling each other out.
1994 Sunday Times 23 Jan. 28 (advt)The waiting as it bubbles away, emitting an aroma that can render a hungry oke speechless at a range of at least a kilometre. That’s when you say ‘what a potjie’.
2. In the plural, used collectively: people of a particular type or origin; cf. ou noun sense 2 a.
1975 in Darling 12 Mar. 4 (letter)Hang, man, who does this Mrs Botha think she is? She must be one of those rich okes wot went to Oxford and finishing school.
1977 Sunday Times 24 Apr. (Mag. Sect.)She digs wearing trousers with braces straight from the junk shops — which the okes in Bloemfontein wouldn’t smile on.
1991 K. Owen in Sunday Times 17 Mar. 23There are no leaders to be found, only ordinary okes like thee and me. I suggested that we okes start thinking about how to cope with change.
In the plural, used collectively:people of a particular type or origin;
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19701994
okapi, nounn.okie, nounn.
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