Yankee
noun /ˈjæŋki/
/ˈjæŋki/
- (North American English) a person who comes from or lives in any of the northern states of the US, especially New England
- a soldier who fought for the Union (= the northern states) in the American Civil War
- (also Yank)(British English, informal) an offensive word for a person from the US; an American
Word Originmid 18th cent.: origin uncertain; recorded in the late 17th cent. as a nickname; perhaps from Dutch Janke, diminutive of Jan ‘John’.