If there ever was a word that has fallen on hard times, it’s the past tense form of the English verb wake. The word “woke” has suffered all kinds of abuse in the hands of right wing propagandists who use it as a derogatory label for just about any form of cultural expression they don’t like, especially those dealing with ethnic minority culture and non traditional gender identity. In normal English usage the verb wake is almost always used in compound form with the preposition up but its past tense “woke” has been used as a slang term denoting being informed and aware for quite some time, being documented as early as the 1930s.

The word itself is ancient, belonging to a class of irregular verbs derived from the strong verb forms of Anglo Saxon that use a change of the root vowel to indicate past tense rather than the suffix “ed”. Its roots go much deeper than Anglo Saxon and it is cognate with the Latin verb “vigilare” whose root “vig” was pronounced in the times of Caesar as “Weeg” which isn’t all that far from the modern English pronunciation of woke. Its meaning in classical Latin isn’t very far from the modern English meaning either. In ancient as in modern times it indicates being conscious and aware. To use it in the past tense indicates that the state of wakefulness and awareness has been achieved. That meaning can easily be carried metaphorically to indicate something beyond just waking up in the morning and convey a sense of being enlightened and informed. And that is exactly what the slang use of the word “woke” means. Its slang use in the expression “stay woke” also indicates vigilance and being on guard which corresponds exactly to the most common meaning of “vigilare” both in classical Latin and modern romance languages from which the English use of the word “vigilant” is derived.

It’s deeply ironic that this noble word with its ancient pedigree should be twisted into a label for expressing bigotry. As a derogatory term, it’s a double edged sword because its root meaning will always imply that those being labeled with it are the ones better informed and more aware than those using it as an insult. After all, in ancient India there was once a prince named Siddartha who gave up his wealth and position in a quest to become “woke” and when he finally achieved that state, he became the Buddha. Yes, woke is a synonym for enlightened. The word enlightenment is used metaphorically to refer to what Siddartha was seeking and its literal meaning is to bring in light. In that meaning it refers to the sense of sight and applies the bringing in of light to human consciousness. Woke refers directly human consciousness and a state of heightened awareness. And keep in mind that enlightenment is a translation of a term in a language spoken long ago and vastly different from English, Sanskrit. That word is “bodhi” from the verbal root “budh” which means to wake, to know, to be awake. In other words, exactly the same meaning as the verbal roots of woke and vigilare. The word Buddha literally translates as “the woke one” and the word woke is a much more better and direct translation of the original Sanskrit than enlightened which seems to have become the preferred translation due to its use the Christian tradition both in theological literature and in popular hymns such as “I Saw the Light”.

So if you find yourself being called woke, take it as a badge of honor and a compliment. It implies that you know more, have lived and experienced more than those trying to label you with this word. If anyone or anything you like gets labeled “woke”, take that as a good thing. Woke is beautiful and being woke is a good thing. Those who aren’t woke are living in fear and ignorance far from the liberation that transformed Siddartha into the Buddha.

 

 

Author’s notes:
I first heard the current derogatory use of the word woke after an election in which the newly reelected governor of Florida ranted on it and said things like “woke stops here”. My reaction was “Governor, what are you talking about? So you’re going to wage war against the past tense of a verb?”. A little bit of online searching got me some references to the African American slang usage with examples cited from Leadbelly and Erikah Badu. I’m familiar with both their music, Leadbelly to the extent of learning a couple of his songs by ear and playing them on the guitar. I found the phrase “stay woke” to be beautiful. I’ve gotten into endless online arguments about the misuse of the word and at one point the thought occurred to me, “wasn’t woke what the Buddha was seeking”. The etymological research I’ve done writing this confirms it and shows the deep root connection between buddhahood and wokeness. The Buddha, essentially, was woke. I’m not a practicing Buddhist but if did want to engage in some chanting and use something in simple English, chanting “stay woke, be woke” would be a good phrase to start with.

 

Online references:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enlightenment_in_Buddhism

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woke

https://www.etymonline.com/word/woke

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/woke

https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/budh

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E0%A4%AC%E0%A5%81%E0%A4%A6%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%A7

 

Offline references:

Collins Latin English Dictionary

501 Latin Verbs by Prior and Wohlberg