Meanings
- A song or nursery rhyme about colonial Americans, later adopted as a patriotic song of the United States.
plural Yankee Doodles
- archaicderogatorysometimesA native or inhabitant of British America or, later, the United States.
- datedAn American citizen born on the 4th of July.
Origin
- DutchJanke
- Low Germandudel“fool; one who plays music badly”
- EnglishYankee Doodle
Mid-1700s, from Yankee ("derogatory, American colonist") doodle ("fool") dandy ("foppish or vain man"), the chorus of the eponymous song. Originally a derisive term and song about American colonists created by British regulars during the French and Indian War, from the alleged tendency for Americans to place feathers in their hats in imitation of the fashions of British aristocracy; the usage of dandy insinuated that Americans were low-class and lacked masculinity. The song was quickly reclaimed by Americans, who added verses mocking the British, and it came to prominence as a patriotic tune during the American Revolution. Doodle is likely from Low German dudel (“fool; one who plays music badly”). Yankee is of uncertain origin, but likely ultimately from Dutch Janke, a pet name. See Yankee.
More words from Low German, Dutch
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
Yankee Doodle. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Yankee%20Doodle
“Yankee Doodle.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Yankee%20Doodle. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Yankee Doodle,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Yankee%20Doodle.
Source: Yankee Doodle on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.