Yankee

Yankee
Yankee 1683, a name applied disparagingly by Dutch settlers in New Amsterdam (New York) to English colonists in neighboring Connecticut. It may be from Du. Janke, lit. "Little John," dim. of common personal name Jan; or it may be from Jan Kes familiar form of "John Cornelius," or perhaps an alteration of Jan Kees, dialectal variant of Jan Kaas, lit. "John Cheese," the generic nickname the Flemings used for Dutchmen.
It originally seems to have been applied insultingly to the Dutch, especially freebooters, before they turned around and slapped it on the English. A less-likely theory is that it represents some southern New England Algonquian language mangling of English. In English a term of contempt (1750s) before its use as a general term for "native of New England" (1765); during the American Revolution it became a disparaging British word for all American native or inhabitants. Shortened form Yank in reference to "an American" first recorded 1778.

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

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  • Yankee — Yankee …   Deutsch Wörterbuch

  • yankee — [ jɑ̃ki ] n. et adj. • 1776; mot angl. amér., d o. i. 1 ♦ Hist. (souvent péj.) Habitant de la Nouvelle Angleterre, puis, durant la guerre de Sécession, Nordiste (pour les Sudistes). 2 ♦ Vieilli Américain des États Unis (par rapport aux autres… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Yankee in Oz — is a 1972 Oz novel by Ruth Plumly Thompson. It was the first published by The International Wizard of Oz Club. A letter from the Henry Regnery Company, which bought Reilly Lee, is reproduced in the front indicating the publisher s blessing for… …   Wikipedia

  • Yankee — Sm US Amerikaner erw. exot. (18. Jh.) Onomastische Bildung. Entlehnt aus ne. yankee Bewohner der amerikanischen Nordstaaten , dieses wohl zu ndl. Janke, Jantje, einem Diminutiv zu ndl. Jan. Ursprünglich wohl Spitzname für die niederländischen… …   Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen sprache

  • Yankee — Yan kee, a. Of or pertaining to a Yankee; characteristic of the Yankees. [1913 Webster] The alertness of the Yankee aspect. Hawthorne. [1913 Webster] {Yankee clover}. (Bot.) See {Japan clover}, under {Japan}. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Yankee — Yan kee, n. [Commonly considered to be a corrupt pronunciation of the word English, or of the French word Anglais, by the native Indians of America. According to Thierry, a corruption of Jankin, a diminutive of John, and a nickname given to the… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Yankee — (engl., spr. jängki), in Nordamerika Scherzname der Bewohner Neuenglands, in Europa der Nordamerikaner überhaupt. Yankee Doodle (spr. dudl), das Nationallied der Nordamerikaner …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

  • Yankee — A Yankee is properly an inhabitant of New England or of the northern states of the USA, and the name was used with this meaning during the American Civil War. On the other hand the shortened form Yank is commonly applied to Americans generally.… …   Modern English usage

  • Yankee — (spr. Jänkih), eine indianische Verstümmelung des Wortes English (der Engländer), 1) Scherz u. Spottname für die Nordamerikaner, welcher denselben zuerst im Nordamerikanischen Freiheitskriege von den Engländern beigelegt wurde, bezeichnete… …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Yankee — (engl., spr. jängki), Name, den man in Amerika selbst den Neuengländern, in Europa aber den Nordamerikanern überhaupt zur Bezeichnung ihres Nationalcharakters beilegt. Y. ist nach einigen die durch die Indianer verderbte Aussprache des Wortes… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Yankee — Yankee, ein Spottname, welchen die Engländer vorzugsweise den Nordamerikanern geben und der s. v. w. Tölpel bedeuten soll …   Damen Conversations Lexikon

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