workie

English

Etymology

From work (noun) +‎ -ie (suffix forming colloquial nouns denoting persons associated with the words to which they are affixed). Sense 1 (“intern”) alludes to work experience.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈwɜːki/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈwɜɹki/

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

• Homophone: worky
• Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)ki
• Hyphenation: work‧ie

Noun

workie (plural workies) (informal)

2. (slang) An intern.
   • 2014, Julie Bradford, Fashion Journalism, page 22:

     Other interns are another good source of advice and support. Melody Small, a 20-year-old student from Canterbury who did a two-week editorial placement at Grazia, said: 'Make friends with other workies […]

3. (chiefly Scotland) A worker, especially a manual labourer.
4. (US politics, historical) Chiefly in the form Workie: a member or supporter of a Working Men's (or Workingmen's) Party, one of a number of political parties established in the United States in the early 19th century to further working class interests.

Alternative forms

• (senses 2 and 3): worky
• (sense 3): Workie