yahoo
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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[edit] English
[edit] Etymology
- Creative origin by Jonathan Swift in Gulliver's Travels. A race of brutes, who look and act like man. Derived from "Jehu", a biblical king who was famous for his chariot-driving skills. "To drive like Jehu" was to drive in an aggressive manner, forcing others out of the way. Jehu is derived from YHWH, the Hebrew name for God.
- Also the rebel battle yell (southern confederate, CSA) cried with a shrill yeaaaaa hoo as in yea, though I walk in the valley of death...
The Australian sense almost certainly derives from Gulliver's Travels, despite Holman's report (quote below), since the sound "H" does not occur in aboriginal languages, only in words learnt or adopted from Europeans. (Reference: Bunyips and Bigfoots, Malcolm Smith, Millenium Books, 1996, ISBN 1-86429-081-1.)
[edit] Noun
yahoo (plural yahoos)
- A rough, coarse, or uncouth person; yokel; lout.
- A loud boisterous person.
- A derogatory term for a white person from the Confederate South (i.e., United States).
- (cryptozoology) A humanoid cryptid said to exist in parts of eastern Australia, and also reported in the Bahamas.
- 1835: The natives are greatly terrrified by the sight of a person in a mask calling him "devil" or Yah-hoo, which signifies evil spirit. — James Holman, Travels, 1835 (quoted by Malcolm Smith, above)
- 1985: Yahoos in the Bahamas — title of paper by Michael Raynal, Cryptozoology, volume 4, 1985
[edit] Synonyms
[edit] Interjection
yahoo
- An exclamation of joy.
- A battle cry.
