What does "yankee" mean?
Yankee: A nickname for a native of citizen of New England, especially one descended from old New England stock; by extension, an inhabitant of the Northern States as distinguished from a Southerner; also, applied sometimes by foreigners to any inhabitant of the United States. From meanness first this Portsmouth Yankey rose, And still to meanness all his conduct flows. Oppression, A poem by an American (Boston, 1765).
Additional senses
- 2.Of or pertaining to a Yankee; characteristic of the Yankees. The alertness of the Yankee aspect. Hawthorne. Yankee clover. (Bot.) See Japan clover, under Japan.
Sources
- Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
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- Published: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00 · Modified: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00