Green’s Dictionary of Slang

to look, to look at.

[1820		H.T. Prinsep Narrative of the Political and Military Transactions of India II 223: The private orders to Dhamonee were in these words: ‘Jysa Dekho, wysakuro;’ As you see, so do’].
1837		New Mthly Mag. & Humorist III 341: ‘Dekho, Sahib!’ exclaimed Kamah, with a broad grin.
1845		Calcutta Rev. (1848) 119: ‘How can you venture to give so much credit?’ said a gentleman who was present. ‘Dekho (see) Sahib,’ replied the dealer, ‘officer all full-batta get – they come back Hindustan, all very khush (happy) to see Mem Sahib look pretty – then she say, there is one little bill, – Sahib pay money.’.
1847		C. Campbell Rough Recollections 224: Ya, sahib, dekko, dekko ... Oh, sir, look! look !
1856		Chambers’s Jrnl 26 July 60/2: ‘A dark little urchin [...] gazed wonderingly at me as, slippers in hand, I prepared to recross the stream. ‘Dekho!’ cried he, pointing over to the spot I had just left – ‘Dekho!’ .
1877		A. Allardyce ‘The Anglo-Indian Tongue’ in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Mag. May 546/1: Magistrates of the present day are generally inclined to follow the Mofussil Daniel in the last generation, who said, ‘Zabiteh be d---d! ayeen dekhao’ (look up the Regulations).
1881		Times of India 9 July 2/7: He scanned the face of the cliff for a moment, then bursting into a grin of Asiatic width exclaimed Marker! marker! marker hai, sahib! Dekko.
1890		Kipling ‘The God from the Machine’ in Soldiers Three (1907) 12: Av you iver say wan wurrd about fwhat you’ve dekkoed, I’ll marrow you till your own wife won’t sumjao who you are!
1901		Kipling Kim 219: ‘Look! Dekho! It is there as it was there.’.
1916		T. Burke Limehouse Nights 311: The Chink, looking across Perce’s shoulder, gave a sharp cry [...] ‘Dekko!’ Perce obeyed sharply. And he saw the giant corpse.
1927		P. MacDonald Patrol (1957) 97: ‘Dekko!’ He pointed ahead to where Abelson, alone, was nearing the hut.
1927		Smith’s Wkly (Sydney) 20 Aug. 11/2: Slanguage [...] Arithy. [...] A bloke pads the ’oof ’tween Melbin and Sydney and dips ’is lid [to] every third tabbie ’e dekkos, ’ow far would he be from, Bourke before he does ’is block? Answer to nearest ’arf tin o’ suds .
1933		Ersine Und. and Prison Sl. 31: decko, v. To peek.
1934		‘George Orwell’ Burmese Days (1986) 229: ‘Dekho!’ said the mali in his plum-in-the-mouth voice.
1942		J. MacLaren-Ross ‘I Had to Go Sick’ in Memoirs of the Forties (1984) 255: ‘Got anything wrong with your leg?’ ‘I’ve got a scar on it, sergeant,’ I told him. ‘Dekko,’ the sergeant said.
1943		R. Llewellyn None But the Lonely Heart 65: You pulled out the newspaper and dekkoed the front page.
1971		(con. WWII) B. Aldiss Soldier Erect 35: Here, Stubby, dekko this!