In the world, when they say "Yankees, " they usually mean Americans. But in America itself, everything is not so simple; there, by the Yankees, they understand, first of all, the inhabitants of North America! The word changed its meaning over time, as it was actively influenced by various historical events.
What does the word "Yankees" mean
In the 18th century, America was called New England, and the word "Yankees" denoted the descendants of settlers from Old England who came to explore the new continent. In the famous novel, “The Yankees of Connecticut at the Court of King Arthur, ” the word is used precisely in this meaning. And only after many years, the southerners began to call the North Americans. Already in the modern world, the word has a new meaning - now they call it all Americans. The anti-American slogan "Yankees, go home!" Is widely known, it does not even have to be written in English to make it clear what is meant.
The origin of the word "Yankees"
It is known that for the first time the word "Yankees" was used in 1758 by the English general James Wolf, calling the soldier from New England. Some suggest that in the Cherokee language this word means “coward, ” others believe that the word is borrowed from another Indian tribe, but it has the same meaning.
Rev. Father John Hawkwilder suggested in 1819 that the word "Yankees" appeared when Indians - Native Americans - began to learn English. James Fenimore Cooper, a well-known writer of adventure novels about the interaction of indigenous peoples of America and immigrants, supports this theory.
There is another theory that the word is of Dutch origin. Dutch colonies were present in America in large numbers, for example, the states of New York, New Jersey and part of Connecticut. Indians from the Dutch colonies actively interacted with Indians from the English settlements. There are two popular Dutch names: Jan and Kaas, they are often combined into one, it turns out something like "Jan Kaas". This serves as a peculiar common name for the people, as well as "Fritz" or "Ivan." The Dutch colonists were often called Jan Kaas or Jan Kiis, the second combination gets the additional meaning associated with cheeses. It is known how the Dutch love cheese.
