Where did the term "Yankee" come from?

Answer 1

The term Yankee (also Yank) has a number of possible meanings, but in almost all contexts, it refers to someone of American origin or heritage. Within the USA, its popular meaning has varied over time. Historically, the term usually refers to residents of New England, as used by Mark Twain in A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. During and after the American Civil War, its popular meaning expanded to include any Northerner or resident of the Union, and included any resident of the Northeast (New England, Mid-Atlantic, and upper Great Lakes states). Over time, however, the term has since reverted to its 18th century geographic indication of New England, except when the speaker is from the South. Outside the USA, Yank or Yankee is the most common slang term for any American, whether from New England or not.

The origins of the term are uncertain. In 1758 British General James Wolfe referred to the New England soldiers under his command as Yankees: "I can afford you two companies of Yankees." The term as used by the British was thick with contempt.

Johnathan Hastings of Cambridge, Massachusetts was attributed around 1713 to regularly using the word as a superlative, generally in the sense of excellent.

The Oxford English Dictionary states that one of the earliest theories on the word derivation is from the Cherokee word "eankke" for coward as applied to the residents of New England. Also, as the Northeastern Native American approximation of the words English and Anglais. It has been rejected by some linguists.

The Oxford English Dictionary suggests the most plausible origin to be that it is derived from the Dutch first names "Jan" and "Kees". "Jan" and "Kees" were common Dutch first names, and also common Dutch given names or nicknames. "Jan" means "John" and may have been used as a reference to the settlers of New-York (New-Amsterdam at the time) who were Dutch. The word Yankee in this sense would be used as a form of contempt, applied derisively to Dutch settlers in New England and New York. Another speculation suggests the Dutch form was Jan Kaas, "John Cheese", from the prevalence of dairy-farming among the Dutch, but this seems far-fetched. More realistically, linguists Michael Quinion and Patrick Hanks argue the term refers to the Dutch nickname and surname Janke, anglicized to Yanke and "used as a nickname for a Dutch-speaking American in colonial times". By extension, according to their theory, the term grew to include non-Dutch American colonists as well.

A humorous aphorism attributed to E.B. White:

To foreigners, a Yankee is an American.
To Americans, a Yankee is a Northerner.
To Northerners, a Yankee is an Easterner.
To Easterners, a Yankee is a New Englander.
To New Englanders, a Yankee is a Vermonter.
And in Vermont, a Yankee is somebody who eats pie for breakfast. :p

Answer 2

Wikipedia:
The origins of the term are uncertain. In 1758 British General James Wolfe referred to the New England soldiers under his command as Yankees: "I can afford you two companies of Yankees."[1] The term as used by the British was thick with contempt, as shown by the cartoon from 1775 ridiculing Yankee soldiers.[2] The "Yankee and Pennamite" war was a series of clashes over land titles in Pennsylvania, 1769, in which "Yankee" meant the Connecticut claimants.

Answer 3

The term "yankee" is much older that the Civil War.
In the 1700's the French, Dutch and the English had colonies in North America. Both armies made allies of different Indian tribes. Those Indians that sided with the French, referred to the "Anglais" soldiers and settlers, as Yankee, which was a bad pronunciation of the French word, Anglais.

This website claims 16 different origins of the word:
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_260.html

A Dutch explanation:
The Oxford English Dictionary suggests the most plausible origin to be that it is derived from the Dutch first names "Jan" and "Kees". "Jan" and "Kees" were common Dutch first names, and also common Dutch given names or nicknames. "Jan" means "John" and may have been used as a reference to the settlers of New-York (New-Amsterdam at the time) who were Dutch.
source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yankee#Origins_of_the_word

Answer 4

Civil War

Answer 5

Civil War. The southerners were called Rebels.

Answer 6

You haven't heard?,,, Yankee Doodle!

Answer 7

I'm pretty sure that 'yan-kee' means 'loud mouth' in a native american language, but I'm not 100%.