HIT-> the term "yankee"

[Michael Kankiewicz <MICHAELK@UBVM.BITNET>]

I received several very different responses...

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From: Barbara Gorter <barbargo@nethost.multnomah.lib.or.us>

From O.E.D.: 1789- Thomas Anburey, Br.officer,Yankee from Cherokee
"eankke" meaning slave, coward, applied to inhabitants of NE by
Virginians for not assisting is was with Cherokees; also c1713 farmer
Johanthan Hastings wo used it in sense of "excellent"; 1822 most widely
accepted word evolved fr NA Indian corruption of the word 'English' to
"Yengees" to Yankees; also plausible  as derisive nickname fr. Dutch
Janke, dim of Jan (John).

Barbara Gorter, Youth Librarian         (503) 248-5392
Midland Branch Library                  f: (503) 248-5189
805 SE 122d                             barbargo@nethost.multnomah.lib.or.us
Portland, Oregon  97233


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From: "Lorraine L. Steinberg" <steinber@alpha.acast.nova.edu>

I believe it came to be used during the French and Indian Wars.  The
Iroquoi used a word for white settlers which the French could not
pronounce and they wrote it something like "Yanqui".  Later it was
adopted (and adapted) by the colonists.  THat information came from James
Fenimore Cooper's Leatherstocking Tales, so I don't know if it is
historically accurate, but I've always assumed it to be true.

Lorraine L. Steinberg                       Multimedia Coordinator
(217) 228-0765 Home                         Whiteside School District #115
(618) 233-7917 School                       Bellville, IL  62221
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From: ml05611@llwnet.ll.pbs.org (IS 391)

According to Eric Partridge's Origins, yankee is an Amerind
corruption [sic] of Anglais or the diminutive of jon (John)
as applied by the New York Dutch settlers to the English
settlers in Conecticut.  Various sources prefer the putative
Dutch etiology. I adore Partridge and am glad I purchased
my copy before the book went OP.

Anne Dykstra  IS 391 Brooklyn NY  ml05611@llwnet.ll.pbs.org
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From:         William Russell Smith <rssmith@TENET.EDU>

     Well, Mike you shouldn't have asked a Scottish-American! :-)

     Many feel the term comes from the Scottish word "yankie" which means a
sharp and clever woman. Considering the way Yankee has been used over the
past 300 years, that explanation makes more sense to me than some of the
other ones etymologists have proposed.

Russell Smith
rssmith@tenet.edu
Sweetwater, Texas
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From: HALERG@BIOMED.MED.YALE.EDU

No it is a contraction of a German word meaning border thief. A Yankee must be
born in New England, eat lobsters and clams and think Southerners still save
confederate money.

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