Talk:Yankee
From Academic Kids
Please edit! I added the link since there wasn't one, but don't know anything about the subject.
Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable has origins of 'yankee':
[1] (http://www.bartleby.com/81/17663.html)
I think Brewer is out of copyright, otherwise it wouldn't be on Bertelby.com... not sure though...
-- AndyE
PS Seems like it's definitely in the public domain, not sure about the accuracy of the the derivation though. It says
-begin quote
A corruption of “English.” The word got into general use thus: In 1713 one Jonathan Hastings, a farmer at Cambridge, in New York, used the word as a puffing epithet, meaning genuine, American-made, what cannot be surpassed, etc.; as, a “Yankee horse,” “Yankee cider,” and so on. The students of the college, catching up the term, called Hastings “Yankee Jonathan.” It soon spread, and became the jocose pet name of the New Englander. Since then the term has been extended to any American of the Northern States. (Indian corruption of Anglais or English, thus: Yengees, Yenghis, Yanghis, Yankees.)
Yankee Doodle is Nankee Doodle (Oliver Cromwell), who went to Oxford “with a single feather fastened in a macaroni knot,” whence the rhyme—
Nankee Doodle came to town upon his little pony, Stuck a feather in his hat, and called it macaroni.”
The brigade under Lord Percy marched out of Boston playing this air “by way of contempt,” but were told they should dance to it soon in another spirit.
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Associated with....?
other parts of the world, particularly Latin America, yankee or yanqui is meant as an insult and is politically associated with anti-imperialism and used in expressions such as "Yankee go home".
This is very ambiguous wording, I assume this is saying the "Yankee" is seen as an imperalist? Or that the Yankee is imposing anti-imperalist views? Nagelfar 05:46, 27 Jul 2004 (UTC)
Jan Kees, Yeah right! ;-)
Taken from article:
The etymology is uncertain; one suggestion is that it derives from Dutch Janke, diminutive of Jan (John), or Jan Kees, for "John Cheese", a nickname for English settlers bestowed by the Dutch in the early days of New York City. The phrase was probably popularized by the English in the song Yankee Doodle Dandee to describe New Yorkers, and perhaps, all (Northern) Americans in the colonies.
- In dutch, Janken = To Cry
- Jan Kees -> Johan Cornelis -> Joh(a)n Cornelius.
Cheese = Kaas
Dutch would call English settlers John Cheese? Well, dutch folks are often called cheeseheads (because of their smell I think :-| ), so that part would more likely be the other way around.
Hmm, is the above original research perhaps? Could anyone provide a cite?
Kim Bruning 21:08, 10 Dec 2004 (UTC)
The dutch wikipedia puts it the other way round. Dutch folks are often called "Jan" or "Kees", so the english might have used "The Jan And Kees-es" - yankees for short. Hmmm, could be. Does sound rather more likely? Kim Bruning 21:12, 10 Dec 2004 (UTC)
