Woke
Woke, used as a political term, is of African-American origin and is derived from the African-American Vernacular English expression ‘stay woke’, referring to a continuing awareness of social justice and racial issues. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary labels ‘woke’ as “chiefly US slang” and defines it as being aware of and actively attentive to important facts and issues (especially issues of racial and social justice).
The words wake and woke have their origins in the Proto-Indo-European (PIE) root weg (to be strong, to be lively).
The use of ‘woke’ as a political term first appears in the US during the 1860 presidential election in support of Abraham Lincoln; in particular, as part of the Wide Awakes movement opposing the spread of slavery.
The term ‘woke’ has been used in the music and theatre of popular culture for almost one hundred years; for example, in his 1938 song, Scottsboro Boys, Lead Belly advises people “to be a little careful when they go along through there, stay woke, keep their eyes open.” More recently, the term ‘woke’ was popularized in the album New Amerykah Part One (4th World War) (2008) by soul singer Erykah Badu.
By the late 2010s, ‘woke’ is being used as a more generic term “broadly associated with left-wing politics, socially liberal causes, feminism, LGBTQ activism and [other] cultural issues…its widespread use since 2014 is a result of the Black Lives Matter movement” (Wikipedia).
Online Etymological Dictionary: https://www.etymonline.com/
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/woke
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woke
The words wake and woke have their origins in the Proto-Indo-European (PIE) root weg (to be strong, to be lively).
The use of ‘woke’ as a political term first appears in the US during the 1860 presidential election in support of Abraham Lincoln; in particular, as part of the Wide Awakes movement opposing the spread of slavery.
The term ‘woke’ has been used in the music and theatre of popular culture for almost one hundred years; for example, in his 1938 song, Scottsboro Boys, Lead Belly advises people “to be a little careful when they go along through there, stay woke, keep their eyes open.” More recently, the term ‘woke’ was popularized in the album New Amerykah Part One (4th World War) (2008) by soul singer Erykah Badu.
By the late 2010s, ‘woke’ is being used as a more generic term “broadly associated with left-wing politics, socially liberal causes, feminism, LGBTQ activism and [other] cultural issues…its widespread use since 2014 is a result of the Black Lives Matter movement” (Wikipedia).
Online Etymological Dictionary: https://www.etymonline.com/
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/woke
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woke
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