Yankee
The term Yankee can refer to a resident of New England, or more often, a resident of the northern United States. It is sometimes used to refer to any American, especially in an international context (such as during the American Revolutionary War). 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. See also yankee ingenuity
Yankee has several other meanings:
- A mildly derogatory term for the Union forces in the American Civil War, used by the Confederates
- A sometimes-derogatory term for citizens of the United States of America (often shortened to Yank)
- A baseball team in New York, New York is the New York Yankees, despite New York not being part of New England.
- A type of bet
- The letter Y in the NATO phonetic alphabet