A man. The most widespread slang term in Britain and Australia from the 1950s, when it superseded 'chap' and 'fellow', to the 1970s, when 'guy' began to rival it in popularity amongst younger speakers. The exact origin of the word is mysterious. It seems to have entered

working-class slang from vagrants' jargon; either from Shelta, the Irish travellers' secret language, or from Romany. Romany has a word, loke, which is derived from the Hindustani for a man; in Dutch blok means a fool. Whatever its ultimate origin, bloke entered British usage early in the 19th century and is still thriving in colloquial speech.

'I went into the boozer the other day and there was this bloke I hadn't seen for 25 years.' (William Donaldson, Independent, 26 August 1989).