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"Yankee" ?

Thought this would be the place to ask (well, it's better than "where does the word Gringo come from"). I'm just curious as to the origins of the word "Yankee".
I understand, rightly or wrongly, that it comes from the Civil War, but why, and what does it mean?
Thanks.

By britabroad on Apr 26, 2008, 13:21 in Off Topic.

Lcacique says on Apr 26, 2008, 13:38:

"Among the myriad theories are several involving American Indian origins. It has been suggested that Yankee came from the Cherokee word eankke, 'slave, coward' , or from the name of a tribe of Massachusetts Indians, the Yankoos, 'invincible ones'.

The most persistent theory in the 19th century originated with the Rev. John Heckewelder in 1819. He wrote that Yankee resulted from the American Indians' attempts to pronounce the word English. James Fenimore Cooper was a proponent of this theory and referred to it in The Deerslayer in 1841.

In Knickerbocker's History of New York (1809) Washington Irving wrote that Yankee came from a Mais-Tschusaeg (Massachusetts) word yanokies, 'silent men'. Irving was joking, but some people took him seriously.

Another hoax appeared in the Monthly Review and Boston Anthology in 1810 in a letter that was supposedly written by Noah Webster. It claimed that Yankee came from a Persian word jenghe, 'warlike man or swift horse' and that Genghis Khan meant 'Yankee King'. The piece was actually making fun of Webster's writings on etymology, but not everyone got the joke.

The word Yankee first appeared in the 17th century when it was used as a nickname in connection with Dutch pirates in the West Indies: "Yankee Duch," "Captain Yankey," and "the pirates Yanky and Jacob." In 1725 the word appeared as a personal name in an estate inventory: "one negroe man named Yankee." Most scholars now believe that Yankee comes from Dutch although there is disagreement about which Dutch word is the source.

Random House Webster's College Dictionary suggests that Yankee comes from Jan Kees (or Jan Kaas), 'John Cheese', a nickname for the Dutch. The -s at the end sounded like a plural to English speakers and was dropped. Proponents of this theory believe that the name was first applied to Dutch pirates by the English and later used by the New York Dutch for their Connecticut neighbors. H.L. Mencken favored this explanation, noting that the New Englanders' "commercial enterprise outran their scruples."

The other popular theory, favored by the OED, is that Yankee comes from Dutch Janke (or possibly Jantje), 'Little John', the diminutive of Jan, which was used as a derisive nickname by either the English or the Dutch in the New England states.

The earliest recorded use of Yankee as a term for Americans is in a 1758 letter by General James Wolfe (of Battle of Quebec fame) in which he used the word pejoratively of the American troops assigned to him. In 1775 the British troops used Yankee as a derogatory term for the citizens of Boston. The song Yankee Doodle Dandy was played by the British on their 1775 march to Concord as an insult to the Americans (the original lyrics were bawdy -- "doodle" was a slang word for 'dolt' or 'penis'). After the battles at Lexington and Concord, the Americans adopted the song as their own and taunted the retreating British with it. Yankee thus began to acquire a complimentary sense. The version of the song that we know dates from 1776."

Does that help?

Hoy se nota en la floresta un ambiente de alegría. ¡Y el rumor de ranchería es mas dulce y sabe a fiesta!

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goin_south says on Apr 26, 2008, 14:00:

uppity: como Nueva Jork Jankees (Mios!)

'what does it mean, when one of you (colombians) tell another: YOU WERE NOT/ARE NOT. 'COLOMBIAN ENOUGH'?? jejeje..a mixture, I think, of stupidity mixed with a false sense of arrogance.. How 'colombian' do you have to be? to be 'colombian enough

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MaFe says on Apr 26, 2008, 14:56:

Nice LC!! Very good!

"All human actions have one or more of these seven causes: chance, nature, compulsions, habit, reason, passion, desire. "-Aristotle

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britabroad says on Apr 26, 2008, 15:16:

LC,
Many, many thanks.

Leave the big stick at home...carry a cannon!

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slguy says on Apr 26, 2008, 15:47:

i always thought it came from working gals in asia...

Before you throw me out, make sure I pay my bar tab

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Medellin Traveler says on Apr 26, 2008, 17:58:

Speaking of Yankee..........

I'm not using that word pejoratively, but I can't say the same for CRACKER!

La cuidad de la primavera, estoy feliz porque te vuelvo a ver - www.medellintraveler.com

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MaFe says on Apr 26, 2008, 18:41:

by George M. Cohan
I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy
A Yankee Doodle, do or die
A real live nephew of my Uncle Sam
Born on the Fourth of July

I've got a Yankee Doodle sweetheart
She's my Yankee Doodle joy
Yankee Doodle came to London
Just to ride the ponies
I am the Yankee Doodle Boy

"All human actions have one or more of these seven causes: chance, nature, compulsions, habit, reason, passion, desire. "-Aristotle

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Desideria (Moderator) says on Apr 26, 2008, 18:46:

Yankee Doodle came to town
ridin' on a pony,
stuck a feather in his cap
and called it macaroni.

"I have opinions of my own, strong opinions, but I don't always agree with them."-President George W. Bush

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Medellin Traveler says on Apr 26, 2008, 20:50:

Desi -

He-Haw!

I haven't heard that in a very looooooong time.

Thanks for making me smile :O)

La cuidad de la primavera, estoy feliz porque te vuelvo a ver - www.medellintraveler.com

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travelingirl says on Apr 26, 2008, 20:58:

I love that Yankee Doodle Dandy song. I have to sing it in a loud Broadway voice with much enthusiasm and show though to get the full effect. ;)

Around her hair she wore a yellow ribbon...

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MaFe says on Apr 26, 2008, 21:22:

TG...that's awesome!! I used to and still sing it loudly....

"All human actions have one or more of these seven causes: chance, nature, compulsions, habit, reason, passion, desire. "-Aristotle

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goin_south says on Apr 26, 2008, 21:59:

and still ?? jjaaj, MaFe.
quite an admission.
How is that? a colombiana singin yankee poodle pandy?

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MaFe says on Apr 26, 2008, 22:03:

Of course...I am also a New Yorker...

I love NY too!

"All human actions have one or more of these seven causes: chance, nature, compulsions, habit, reason, passion, desire. "-Aristotle

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goin_south says on Apr 26, 2008, 22:10:

Colombian Yank? jaj

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MaFe says on Apr 26, 2008, 22:11:

GS, yes with two more nationalities jajajajaja

Glad to see you posting...you guys had fun...

"All human actions have one or more of these seven causes: chance, nature, compulsions, habit, reason, passion, desire. "-Aristotle

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