Yankee

1 of 2

noun

Yan·kee ˈyaŋ-kē

: a native or inhabitant of New England

: a native or inhabitant of the northern U.S.

: a native or inhabitant of the U.S.

Yankeedom

ˈyaŋ-kē-dəm

noun

Yankeeism

ˈyaŋ-kē-ˌi-zəm

noun

Yankee

2 of 2

communications code word

—used as a code word for the letter y

Did you know?

We don’t know the origin of Yankee but we do know that it began as an insult. British General James Wolfe used the term in a 1758 letter to express his low opinion of the New England troops assigned to him, and from around the same time period there is a report of British troops using Yankee as a term of abuse for the citizens of Boston. In 1775, however, after the battles of Lexington and Concord showed that colonials could stand up to British regulars, Yankee was proudly adopted by colonials as a self-descriptor in defiance of the pejorative use. Both derisive and respectable uses have existed ever since.