Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. a master, a boss, a landlord;thus omee of the casa, publican.

1859		Hotten Dict. of Modern Sl. etc. 70: OMEE, a master or landlord. ‘The omee of the cassey’s a nark on the pitch,’ the master of the house will not let us perform.
1864, 1867, 1870		Hotten Sl. Dict. [as cit. 1859].
1873		Sl. Dict.
1881		Newcastle Courant 25 Nov. 6: Who’d have thought the omee of the carsey would have taken it into his noddle to come home.
1891		F.W. Carew Autobiog. of a Gipsey 409: Square indeed! I’ll square the chatty flymps [...] I’ll precious quick make ’em granny who’s omee here.
1895		C. Crowe Aus. Sl. Dict. 54: Omee, the landlord or master.
1896		Mirror of Life 7 Mar. 3/4: Jack has to vader the homies of the casa where he chucks the tifilo before be can get tres bianca a night.

2. a man; often (gay) a heterosexual man.

1861		(con. 1840s–50s) H. Mayhew London Labour and London Poor III 47/2: ‘Fiela’ is a child; ‘Homa’ is a man. [Ibid.] 139/2: ‘Nanti, his nabs is a keteva homer’ – No, he’s a bad sort.
1883		N. Devon Jrnl 8 Feb. 7/2: [from The Echo] From the |Ialian we get [...] donny for woman (donna), and omee for man (uoma).
1887		‘Dagonet’ ‘A Plank Bed Ballad ’ in Referee 12 Feb. n.p.: Oh, donnys and omees, what gives me the spur, – / Is, I’m told by a mug (he tells whoppers), / That I ought to have greased to have kept out of stir / The dukes of the narks and the coppers.
1893		P.H. Emerson Signor Lippo 42: When I got back the cullies said, ‘Well, cully, how did you get on with the omer?’.
1934		P. Allingham Cheapjack 319: Homey (’Omey) – A man.
1962		R. Hauser Homosexual Society 104: I guess it’s the same with Homies (heterosexuals) who settle down to marriage when they get older and find the girls are not exactly fainting over them. [Ibid.] 167: Homie, man (male).
1967		Took & Feldman ‘Bona Bijou Tourettes’ Round the Horne 30 Apr. [BBC radio] Divine. Sitting, sipping a tiny drinkette, vada-ing the great butch omis and dolly little palones trolling by.
1972		B. Rodgers Queens’ Vernacular 190: heterosexual [...] homie (ho’-me, Brit gay sl, fr Parlyaree // It uomo = man).
1982		Maledicta VI:1+2 (Summer/Winter) 139: Parlyaree in homosexual use […] gives us nanti (no), bona[r] (good), [h]omi[e] (man).
1999		M. Coward in Verbatim 24:2 n.p.: An omi is a man, a palone is a woman, and an omipalone is therefore self-explanatory.
2003		(ref. to 1950s–60s) Baker & Stanley Hello Sailor! 94: The Polari term for a seafarer who engaged in gay sex without identifying as gay, was trade omee.
2010		W. Ings ‘Trolling the Beat to Working the Soob’ in Int’l Jrnl Lexicog. 23:1 59: Cant contributed words to the argot of the male prostitute, including omee (man) and nantee (not/nothing).
2019		P. Baker Fabulosa 295/2: omee, omi, omy, omme, omer, homee, homey, homi a man.

3. as sfx to denote one who pursues a given occupation.

2023		R. Milward Man-Eating Typewriter 37: [C]ajoling bodega-omis, flattering sailors and charverings spivs.
2023		R. Milward Man-Eating Typewriter 39: [L]andowners or demolition-omis.