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• dixie
  dixie

  noun

  a large iron pot, especially a 12-gallon camp kettle used by the British Army.
• Dixie
  Dixie

  noun

  the southern states of the United States, especially those that were formerly part of the Confederacy.
• “Dixie”
  “Dixie”

  An American song of the nineteenth century. It was used to build enthusiasm for the South during the Civil War and still is treated this way in the southern states. It was written for use in the theater by a northerner, Daniel Decatur Emmett. As usually sung today, “Dixie” begins:

  I wish I was in the land of cotton;

  Old times there are not forgotten:

  Look away! Look away! Look away! Dixie Land.

dixie

¹ American  

[dik-see] / ˈdɪk si /

noun

Indian English.

1. a large iron pot, especially a 12-gallon camp kettle used by the British Army.

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Dixie ² American  

[dik-see] / ˈdɪk si /

noun

1. Also called Dixie Land.  Also called Dixieland.  the southern states of the United States, especially those that were formerly part of the Confederacy.

2. (italics) any of several songs with this name, especially the minstrel song (1859) by D. D. Emmett, popular as a Confederate war song.

3. a female given name.

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adjective

1. of, from, or characteristic of the southern states of the United States.

idioms

1. whistle Dixie, to indulge in unrealistically optimistic fantasies.

dixie ¹ British  

/ ˈdɪksɪ /

noun

1. military a large metal pot for cooking, brewing tea, etc

2. a mess tin

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dixie ² British  

/ ˈdɪksɪ /

noun

1. dialect a lookout

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Dixie ³ British  

/ ˈdɪksɪ /

noun

1. Also called: Dixieland.  the southern states of the US; the states that joined the Confederacy during the Civil War

2. a song adopted as a marching tune by the Confederate states during the American Civil War

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adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of the southern states of the US

“Dixie” Cultural  

1. An American song of the nineteenth century. It was used to build enthusiasm for the South during the Civil War and still is treated this way in the southern states. It was written for use in the theater by a northerner, Daniel Decatur Emmett. As usually sung today, “Dixie” begins:

   I wish I was in the land of cotton;

   Old times there are not forgotten:

   Look away! Look away! Look away! Dixie Land.

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Usage

Why is Dixie trending? On June 25, 2020, searches for Dixie increased 2,048% compared to the previous week after the popular country music band the Dixie Chicks announced it was changing its name to just the Chicks.

Etymology

Origin of dixie¹

1895–1900; < Hindi dēgcī, diminutive of dēgcā pot

Origin of Dixie²

1855–60, often said to be (Mason-)Dix(on line) + -ie

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dixie Dixie “Dixie”

At 2 hours and 17 minutes, I watch as the dixie cup is finally replaced with the officer’s cover.

From Slate ● Jun. 24, 2026

According to tradition, the plebes’ grueling first year isn’t over until one of them replaces the dixie cup with an officer’s “combination cover.”

From Slate ● Jun. 24, 2026

He lifted the lid from the dixie again and sniffed.

From "All Quiet on the Western Front: A Novel" by Erich Maria Remarque

The "dixie", by the way, is an iron box or pot, oblong in shape, capacity about four or five gallons.

From A Yankee in the Trenches by Holmes, Robert Derby

Fire burn and dixie bubble, Double toil or there'll be trouble.

From Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 153, November 7, 1917 by Various

But at Dixie Canyon there was a choir teacher — do you know about this?

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2026

When the plot went public, it was denounced outside Dixie — Horace Greeley’s New-York Tribune called it the “Manifesto of the Brigands”—and the idea was shelved as America slid toward civil war.

From Barron's ● Jan. 18, 2026

Dixie Dean's record of 60 top-flight goals for Everton in 1927–28 will probably never be broken.

From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2025

Lynsey Paulo, a PG&E spokeswoman, said in an email that the company paid nearly $50 million to victims of the Dixie fire through its program.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2025

My new caseworker, Dixie Elmer, talked up the new place as though it were a magical kingdom, but it sounded more like Lake Mag than Disney World.

From "Three Little Words: A Memoir" by Ashley Rhodes-Courter

At last, The Chicks’ triumphant return gets a Gorge-sized celebration two years after dropping the “Dixie” in their name and releasing their first studio album in 14 years, the Jack Antonoff-produced “Gaslighter.”

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 11, 2022

Darrell Osborne told me he is relieved he will no longer have to avoid saying “Dixie” by telling friends that Deven “attends a college in Utah.”

From Washington Post ● Jan. 6, 2022

In 2020, the school’s trustees commissioned an impact study that found problems with the “Dixie” name.

From Washington Times ● Oct. 27, 2021

Over these chords we hear, in the high register, the sprightly tune “The Girl I Left Behind Me” and, soon after, “Dixie” — as those clusters keep coming.

From New York Times ● Mar. 3, 2021

And they seemed to beat down the “Dixie” tune with every step.

From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan