Definition of "Yankee"

Yankee

/ˈjæŋ.ki/

noun
plural Yankees
1. (chiefly outside the US) A native or inhabitant of the United States.
  Quotations
  ...in a short time, a kind of infectious mirth and pride in their bargains took possession of the place, and every one bought something, holding out their purchases to view, and praising them in the words and phraseology of the young yankees, who, finding their own importance, were not slow to avail themselves of it,...
  1842, [anonymous collaborator of Letitia Elizabeth Landon], chapter XXXIX, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], page 194
2. (chiefly Southern US) A native or inhabitant of the Northern United States.
  Quotations
  […] so that I couldn't help telling her, sir, that in our country, leastways in Virginia (they say the Yankees are very pert), young people don't speak of their elders so.
  1857–1859, W[illiam] M[akepeace] Thackeray, chapter XXXIV, in The Virginians. A Tale of the Last Century, volumes (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Bradbury & Evans, […], published 1858–1859
  “So, he is the father of Emmie Slattery’s baby,” thought Scarlett. “Oh, well. What else can you expect from a Yankee man and a white-trash girl?”
  1936 June 30, Margaret Mitchell, Gone with the Wind, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; republished New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company, 1944, part I, page 71
3. (chiefly Northern US) A native or inhabitant of New England.
4. (chiefly southern Louisiana) An Anglo, as opposed to someone with French ancestry; a native or inhabitant of the rest of the United States.
5. (nautical) A large triangular headsail used in light or moderate winds and set on the fore topmast stay. Unlike a genoa it does not fill the whole fore triangle, but is set in combination with the working staysail.
6. (baseball) A player for the New York Yankees.
7. A wager on four selections, consisting of 11 separate bets: six doubles, four trebles and a fourfold accumulator. A minimum two selections must win to gain a return.
  Quotations
  Betting is complicated with win bets, place bets, each-way bets and complex bets such as doubles, trebles, Yankees and the like.
  1980 March 20, New Scientist, volume 85, number 1199
8. (American Civil War) Someone on the Union side.
verb
third-person singular simple present Yankees, present participle Yankeeing, simple past and past participle Yankeed
1. (dated, slang, US, Canada, sometimes offensive) to cheat, trick or swindle somebody; to misrepresent something

Definition of "Yankee"

Yankee

noun

Quotations

Quotations

Quotations

verb