Jonghheer, Yankee, Yonkers
I read over your explanations of the word "Yankee", and those seem to be the prevalent ones. There is another explanation I had heard while growing up in Yonkers, New York. A "jonghheer" was a young,...
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It sounds good on its face, but the earliest known uses of "Yankee" are as nicknames of individuals. Also, given that the individuals in question were pirates, it seems unlikely there is any...
View ArticleRe: Jonghheer, Yankee, Yonkers
The name "Jonkers" is fairly prevalent in The Netherlands. The "J" is pronounced as an English "Y". I always assumed the town (borough?) was named after a farmer or landowner of that name but frankly...
View ArticleRe: Jonghheer, Yankee, Yonkers
Yes, the township of Yonkers in NY was named for Adrian van der Donck, known locally as the Jonkheer, or Squire, who was given the land grant by the New Netherlands Director General in July, 1645.Info...
View ArticleRe: Jonghheer, Yankee, Yonkers
I can't add anything useful to the origins of Yankee, but the Dutch word nowadays is 'jonker' and means 'son of landed gentry' or thereabouts. The Van Dale etymological dictionary gives it as...
View ArticleRe: Jonghheer, Yankee, Yonkers
I've long thought it a stretch that the origin of "yankee" was derived Dutch "jonghheer". It was one of those dubious assumptions I was told in grade school. As I've noticed on your site, when there...
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Well, most has been said already. I would like to add that 'jonghheer' is definitely a misspelling (it may have some currency outside the Netherlands, I don't know). It should be 'jonkheer' or...
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Sorry for the incorrect spelling. Didn't know about the penile reference either - interesting.
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