dude
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: enpr: do͞od
ipa: /duːd/
ipa: /duːd/
ipa: [dʉːwd]
note: Indic
ipa: /ɖ(j)uɖ/
rhymes: -uːd
other: /j/
other: /dj/
other: [d͡ʒ]
Forms: form: dudes
form: dood
form: dewd
form: d00d
Etymology: Uncertain, though likely a clipping of doodle (“fool, simpleton, mindless person”), perhaps with reference to the fashionable “Yankee Doodle dandy” in the 18th-century lyrics of the song “Yankee Doodle”; the word is first attested in 1883 as a New York City slang term of contempt for a “fastidious man, fop”. If so, then related to German Low German Dudeldop, Dudendop (“fool, dunce”), Saterland Frisian Duddigegen (“idiot”).
It has also been suggested that the word is derived from dudes (“old rags”; compare duds) and dudesman (“scarecrow”), or possibly related to dawdle; It has also been suggested the word derives from the Irish dúid.
The common claim that the term derives from (or is) a word for a camel's foreskin (or some other vulgar thing, like a hair on a cow, horse, donkey, or elephant's bottom) is false.
Senses: examples: text: So we were at the mall and these two dudes just walk up to us and say "hi".
text: A very pretty little dudine of Fifth Avenue is much admired by the dudes in her neighborhood, and it has been observed on several occasions that she appeared to be able to discriminate between them, and not only shows a preference for one dude over another; but is able to recognize the dudes she likes after an interval of separation. It is said, also, that in accepting the attentions of her dude wooers, she shows a peculiar mimicry of the coquettish manners of human girls.
ref: 1883 March 7, “Animal Intelligence: Facts Tending to Throw Light on the Question: ‘Do Dudes Reason?’”, in Puck, volume XIII, number 313, New York, N.Y.: Keppler & Schwarzmann, →OCLC, page 299:
text: At first sight it may seem odd that the character-reader should in any case declare himself incapable of distinguishing sex in writing. […] The most prevalent reason for this probably lies in the so-called "emancipation of women," who, on aping the masculine pursuits and propensities, really acquire the virile tone of character. In a similar way the "dude" of the day becomes androgynous; and the result in one case is a masculine soul in a woman's shape, and in the other a feminine soul in the degraded form of the so-called "dude".
ref: 1896, J. Harington Keene, “Directions for Reading Character from Handwriting”, in The Mystery of Handwriting: A Handbook of Graphology, Boston, Mass.: Lee and Shepard Publishers, 10 Milk Street, →OCLC, page 19:
text: At first Europeans didn't realize what chocolate could be—poor guys! [Christopher] Columbus saw cacao beans in 1503, but he didn't have a clue. (No surprise—dude thought he was in India!)
ref: 2014, Tim J. Myers, “Choc Rocks”, in Rude Dude's Book of Food: Stories behind Some of the Crazy-Cool Stuff We Eat, [Sanger, Calif.]: Familius, →ISBN:
text: Though the term "dude" originated as a term to describe a certain type of male, and then later to refer to men in general, today it is often used to refer to both genders, at least in certain parts of the United States. Dudeism doesn't recognize "dude" as a gender-specific word. We consider both women and men who exhibit dude-like qualities to be "dudes," and assert that the word "dude" can mean many different things depending on the context.
ref: 2016, Oliver Benjamin, “Additional Notes from the Author”, in The Dude De Ching, new annotated edition, [s.l.]: Abide University Press; Dudeism, LLC:
synonyms: word: bloke
word: chap
word: cove
word: guy
word: bloke
word: boy
word: bro
word: broski
word: bruh
word: cat
word: chap
word: chappy
word: chield
word: cove
word: covey
word: dog [⇒ thesaurus] (slang)
word: dawg
word: dude
word: fella
word: fellow
word: gadgie
word: gate
word: geezer
word: gink
word: gloak
word: gome
word: guy
word: health
word: homeboy
word: homey
word: joe
word: lede
word: nigga
word: ninja
word: omi
word: pillicock
word: punk
word: rooster
word: seg
word: shalk
word: wallah
word: wer
word: were
word: wye
glosses: A man, generally a younger man.
examples: text: Dude, I'd be careful around the principal; he's having a bad day.
text: Watch it, dude; you almost knocked me over.
text: The session concluded as Josh, disgusted and surprised, yelled, "Dude, you hit like a girl!" The boys in auto shop drew on images of both femininity—"you hit like a girl"—and bisexuality—"I'll show you a switch hitter." (A bisexual man was often referred to as a "switch hitter" or as someone who "played for both teams.")
ref: 2011, C. J. Pascoe, “Becoming Mr. Cougar: Institutionalizing Heterosexuality and Masculinity at River High”, in Dude, You're a Fag: Masculinity and Sexuality in High School, Berkeley; Los Angeles, Calif.: University of California Press, →ISBN, page 37:
synonyms: bro
mate
old chap
glosses: A term of address for someone, typically a man, particularly when cautioning them or offering advice.
raw_tags: used in the vocative
examples: text: Dudes are at least as entertaining as cows, even when they don't mean to be. A cow can’t voice that honestly curious question that turns a poor cowboy into a laughing fool the way a dude can. Probably nothing in the world can move a cowboy more than a newborn calf's clean, good looks and actions, unless it’s the look of awe on a little dude’s face the first time it sees a cowboy on a horse.
ref: 2006 July–August, J. P. S. Brown, “Hard to Replace: Bill Scott Knows the Value of a Good Horse, a Good Customer, and a Way of Life”, in American Cowboy, Sheridan, Wy.: American Cowboy, →ISSN, →OCLC, pages 74 and 76:
text: The "dudes" are the automobile and bus tourists, mere passers-through: thousands a summer day, millions a season. […] "Dude" expresses perfectly the image that seasonals from the stagecoach driver to the gas-pump jockey have had of tourists: soft, wealthy, uninitiated, ignorant, lowland and (preferably) eastern. […] For the average dude – if such a construct may be admitted – the park is an unusual commodity, financed by his taxes, from which he is therefore entitled to extract as much use and pleasure as he can from the rangers and seasonals who stand in his way.
ref: 2011, Richard W. Bevis, “Mi Tsi A-da-zi”, in Dudes and Savages: The Resonance of Yellowstone, [Bloomington, Ind.]: Trafford Publishing, →ISBN, page 32:
text: "Dude" was originally a name for ranch vacationers with no disrespect attached, but it later became derisively associated with clueless easterners who knew nothing of Western ways, as portrayed by Bob Hope in Son of Paleface (1952). Junior's fiancé^([sic – meaning fiancée]) (Jane Russell) tells him to "go out West." When Junior (Bob Hope) wants to show that he has become a Westerner, he wears a tall outsized white hat like Tom Mix and white wooly chaps, the traditional movie outfit representing an eastern dude. A female dude was known as a "dudess" or "dudine."
ref: 2014, Jeremy Agnew, “The Image Persists”, in The Creation of the Cowboy Hero: Fiction, Film and Fact, Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, →ISBN, page 212:
glosses: A tourist.
examples: text: When the dude dons gloves couleur de chien jaune éclairé de la lune—
ref: 1883 March 7, “Signs of Spring”, in Puck, volume XIII, number 313, New York, N.Y.: Keppler & Schwarzmann, →OCLC, page 21:
english: [the colour of a yellow dog lighted by the moon]
translation: [the colour of a yellow dog lighted by the moon]
text: There are three kinds of dudes in New York. There is the inanimate rich dude who don't want to do a thing on earth but exhibit himself. Then there is the poor dude, who dresses like the rich dude, and who wants to marry a rich girl […]
ref: 1889, Melville D[e Lancey] Landon, “Eli Perkins’ Dudes”, in Wit and Humor of the Age, Comprising Wit, Humor, Pathos, Ridicule, Satires, Dialects, Puns, Conundrums, Riddles, Charades, Jokes and Magic: By Mark Twain, Josh Billings, Robt. J[ones] Burdette, Alex. Sweet, Eli Perkins: With the Philosophy of Wit and Humor, Chicago, Ill.: G. Cline Pub. House, →OCLC, page 246:
synonyms: word: dandy
word: fop
word: masher
word: barbermonger
word: beau
word: blade
word: blood
word: buck
word: carpet knight
word: cockscomb
word: dandy
word: dike
word: dood
word: dude
word: dudelet
word: exquisite
word: fashionable
word: fast man
word: fine gentleman
word: fop
word: foretop
word: fribble
word: gallant
word: go
word: jack-a-dandy
word: Jemmy-Jessamy
word: jetter
word: macaroni
word: masher
word: metrosexual
word: mignon
word: petit maître
word: popinjay
word: pretty boy
word: prig
word: puss-gentleman
word: smart
word: spark
word: spiff
word: swell
word: tippy
word: toff
glosses: A man who is very concerned about his dress and appearance; a dandy, a fop.
Derived terms: cisdude
dude-bro
dudedom
dude food
Dudeism
Dudeist
dudeless
dudelet
dudely
dudeness
dude ranch
dudeship
dudess
dudette
dude up
dudevorce
dudey
dudical
dudine
dudish
everydude