Ocker

Part of speech: noun, adjective

Definitions

1. A derogatory term used in Australia to describe an unsophisticated or uncouth person, often with a rural background
2. Referring to an Australian individual who embodies characteristics of roughness or lack of refinement, sometimes with an emphasis on nationalism
3. Denoting a person in Australia perceived as overly simple or unrefined, typically associated with a working-class lifestyle and straightforward attitudes

Etymology: The Australian "ocker" owes its modern sense to a nickname and a television show, not to the much older English word it shares a spelling with. That older word, "ocker" (also "oker"), came into Middle English from Old Norse "ókr", meaning usury, or interest charged on a loan. Its ancestor in Proto-Germanic meant something like progeny, earnings or profit, and the sense of gain from lending money is what survives in the medieval word. The Australian sense has a different origin. It derives from "Ocker", a pet form of the name Oscar, which was popularised through a series of television sketches in which the word served as a general nickname for a boorish, beer-drinking, loud-mouthed Australian man. The sketches made the label stick, so that a name had become a stereotype.

Synonyms: aussie, australian, bushman, ockerish

Antonyms: refined, cultured, sophisticated