bloke

Etymology

The origin is unknown.^{[2][3][4][5][6]} Chambers calls it obscure.^[7] Several dictionaries derive it from Shelta, the argot of Irish tinkers:^{[8][9][10][11][12]} Weekley calls it 19th-century thieves' slang of Shelta origin,^[13] and Webster's New World gives the Shelta source with a question mark.^[14] Green's Dictionary of Slang hesitates between Shelta and Romani, and notes that there is also a case for Dutch blok (“a fool”).^[15] Etymonline mentions a Celtic word for a large, stubborn person, and another suggestion, which Hendrickson also reports, of a word for "man" brought by Romani speakers from Hindi.^[16][17]

Earliest recorded meaning

A man, in criminal cant or slang: 1829, in the Proceedings of the Old Bailey.^[2][18][4] Etymonline dates it 1851, as London slang, also spelt bloak.^[16]

Semantic evolution

In the early underworld the word was often used with the for a man in charge: a judge from 1841, also a prison governor or a ship's captain, and the master of a house in 1865.^[15] Its plain sense "man, fellow" is recorded from about 1830.^[15] The naval use for a ship's commander dates from about 1914 and is now rare.^[2][7] The word became chiefly British, Australian and New Zealand,^[2] and in Australia it could also mean a person in authority.^[12] It is now often used approvingly for a straightforward, down-to-earth man, especially in good bloke,^[2][18] but since the 1990s also disapprovingly for a male chauvinist.^[18] In Australia a bloke was a woman's boyfriend by 1908, and in Britain from 1937, first in the navy, a gay man's partner.^[18] Derivatives include blokeish and blokey, the Australian blokette and the New Zealand blokess, a woman who fits in with the men.^[15][7]

Timeline

• 1829 – a man, in cant or slang.^[2][18]
• 1841 – with the, a judge.^[15]
• 1851 – London slang, by Etymonline's date.^[16]
• 1865 – the master of a house.^[15]
• 1908 – Australian, a boyfriend.^[18]
• c. 1914 – naval slang, with the, a ship's commander.^[2]
• 1937 – British, a gay man's partner.^[18]

Meanings

Noun

1. (informal, chiefly British, Australian and New Zealand) A man; a fellow or chap: Some bloke from the council came to look at the drains.^[11][4][2]
2. An ordinary, straightforward, down-to-earth man, especially in a good bloke.^[2][18]
3. (Australia) A woman's boyfriend.^[18]
4. (naval slang) With the: a ship's commander.^[2][7]

Usage notes

Merriam-Webster notes that the word often carries mild disrespect when used of a superior, and slight self-deprecation when a speaker uses it of himself.^[4]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
4. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
6. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c d The Chambers Dictionary (2008), 11th ed., Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap
8. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ Soanes, Catherine; Stevenson, Angus, eds. (2004), Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 11th ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
11. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
12. ^ a b Moore, Bruce, ed. (2004), The Australian Oxford Dictionary, 2nd ed., Melbourne: Oxford University Press
13. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
14. ^ Webster's New World College Dictionary (2014), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
15. ^ a b c d e f Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
16. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
17. ^ Hendrickson, Robert (2008), The Facts on File Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins, 4th ed., New York: Facts on File
18. ^ a b c d e f g h i Dalzell, Tom; Victor, Terry, eds. (2013), The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English, 2nd ed., London: Routledge