uke
uke Lexical Profile
uke Game Scores & Validity
• noun
An informal shortening of ukulele, a small four-stringed guitar-like musical instrument associated with Hawaiian music.
"He packed his uke in a padded gig bag before heading down to the beach."
In Japanese martial arts such as judo and aikido, the practitioner who receives a throw, hold, or technique during training.
"During the demonstration, the uke executed a clean breakfall after being thrown by the instructor."
Word Nuance & Usage
These two meanings are heteronyms with distinct pronunciations: the musical instrument shortening is pronounced as a single syllable (/juːk/), whereas the martial arts term borrowed from Japanese is pronounced as two syllables (/ˈuːkeɪ/).
• Rhymes for uke
Word Origin & Etymology
Sense 1 is an early 20th-century informal clipping of 'ukulele', itself borrowed from Hawaiian. Sense 2 is borrowed from Japanese 'uke', derived from the verb 'ukeru' meaning 'to receive'.