Yankee
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈjæŋ.ki/
rhymes: -æŋki
Forms: form: Yankees
form: Yanky
form: Yengee
Etymology: First attested in 1765, when it was described as "a name of derision … given by the Southern people on the Continent to those of New England". Various suggestions have been made as to its origin: that it derives from a Cherokee word meaning "slave" or "coward" and was applied to the New Englanders by the Virginians because the former refused to aid the latter in a war against the Cherokees; that it derives from Yengees, an Indian corruption of English; and that it derives from Janke, a pet form of the common Dutch forename Jan. The OED regards the last of these as "perhaps the most plausible".
Senses: examples: text: ...in a short time, a kind of infectious mirth and pride in their bargains took possession of the place, and every one bought something, holding out their purchases to view, and praising them in the words and phraseology of the young yankees, who, finding their own importance, were not slow to avail themselves of it,...
ref: 1842, [anonymous collaborator of Letitia Elizabeth Landon], chapter XXXIX, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 194:
synonyms: word: American
word: Americunt
word: Ameritard
word: Seppo
word: septic
word: United Statesian
word: United Statian
word: Usanian
word: USian
word: US-ian
word: Usonan
word: Usonian
word: US American
word: U.S. American
word: US-American
word: Yank
word: Yankee
glosses: A native or inhabitant of the United States.
examples: text: […]so that I couldn't help telling her, sir, that in our country, leastways in Virginia (they say the Yankees are very pert), young people don't speak of their elders so.
ref: 1857–1859, W[illiam] M[akepeace] Thackeray, chapter XXXIV, in The Virginians. A Tale of the Last Century, volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Bradbury & Evans, […], published 1858–1859, →OCLC:
text: “So, he is the father of Emmie Slattery’s baby,” thought Scarlett. “Oh, well. What else can you expect from a Yankee man and a white-trash girl?”
ref: 1936 June 30, Margaret Mitchell, Gone with the Wind, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company, →OCLC; republished New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company, 1944, →OCLC, part I, page 71:
glosses: A native or inhabitant of the Northern United States.
glosses: A native or inhabitant of New England.
glosses: An Anglo, as opposed to someone with French ancestry; a native or inhabitant of the rest of the United States.
topics: nautical
transport
glosses: A large triangular headsail used in light or moderate winds and set on the fore topmast stay. Unlike a genoa it does not fill the whole fore triangle, but is set in combination with the working staysail.
topics: ball-games
baseball
games
hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: A player for the New York Yankees.
examples: text: Betting is complicated with win bets, place bets, each-way bets and complex bets such as doubles, trebles, Yankees and the like.
ref: 1980 March 20, New Scientist, volume 85, number 1199:
glosses: A wager on four selections, consisting of 11 separate bets: six doubles, four trebles and a fourfold accumulator. A minimum two selections must win to gain a return.
qualifier: American Civil War
glosses: Someone on the Union side.
Derived terms: word: damn Yankee
word: seppo
english: from Yank
translation: from Yank
word: septic tank
word: Yank
word: Yankee cheese
word: Yankeedom
word: Yankee-Doodle
word: Yankee go home
word: Yankee ingenuity
word: Yankeeism
word: Yankee screwdriver
word: Yankee swap
word: yanqui