Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1965 (SND Vol. VI).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1907-1909
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OKE, n. Also dim. forms oakie, oakey. Variant forms of Auk, q.v. [′ok(e)]
1. Applied by P. Neill Tour of Orkney, etc. (1806) 197 to a species of auk, called Alca pica, but now gen. agreed to be merely a razorbill, Alca torda, in the winter plumage of its first year.
2. In dim. forms: the guillemot, Uria aalge (Cai. 1903 E.D.D., Cai. 1964); the puffin, Fratercula arctica (Cai. 1911).Cai. 1907 County of Cai. (Horne) 106:
It was quite impossible for him to get any herrings, for every night, wherever he might go, there sat “the old enemy” on his net in the shape of an “oakey”.Cai. 1909 D. Houston 'E Silkie Man 6:
A'm seean' 'e oakies fleean' past.
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"Oke n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 17 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/oke>
