A Yankee is a person from a northern or north-eastern state of the United States.
[mainly US]
2. countable noun
Some speakers of British English refer to anyone from the United States as a Yankee. This use could cause offence.
[informal]
Yankee in British English
(ˈjæŋkɪ) or informal Yank
noun
1. often derogatory
a native or inhabitant of the US; American
2.
a native or inhabitant of New England
3.
a native or inhabitant of the Northern US, esp a Northern soldier in the Civil War
4. communications
a code word for the letter y
5. finance
a bond issued in the US by a foreign borrower
adjective
6.
of, relating to, or characteristic of Yankees
Word origin
C18: perhaps from Dutch Jan Kees John Cheese, nickname used derisively by Dutch settlers in New York to designateEnglish colonists in Connecticut
Yankee in American English
(ˈjæŋki)
noun
1. US
a person born or living in New England
2. US
a.
a person born or living in a Northern State; Northerner
b.
a Union soldier in the Civil War
3. US
a person born or living in the U.S.
adjective US
4.
of, like, or characteristic of the Yankees
Word origin
< ? Du Jan Kees (taken as pl.) < Jan, John + Kees, dial. form of kaas, cheese; orig. (Jan Kaas) used as disparaging nickname for a Hollander, later for Dutch freebooter; appliedby colonial Dutch in New York to English settlers in Connecticut