Yankee Doodle

American  

[dood-l] / ˈdud l /

noun

1. (italics) a song with a melody of apparent British origin, popular with American troops during the Revolutionary War.

2. a Yankee.

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Yankee Doodle British  

noun

1. an American song, popularly regarded as a characteristically national melody

2. another name for Yankee

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“Yankee Doodle” Cultural  

1. A popular American song, dating from the eighteenth century. The early settlers of New York were Dutch, and the Dutch name for Johnny is Janke, pronounced “Yankee.” This is the most likely origin of the term Yankee. Doodle meant “simpleton” in seventeenth-century English. First sung during the American Revolutionary War by the British troops to poke fun at the strange ways of the Americans (Yankees), the song was soon adopted by American troops themselves. Since then, the song has been considered an expression of American patriotism. The popular version of the first stanza is:

   Yankee Doodle came to town

   Riding on a pony;

   He stuck a feather in his hat

   And called it macaroni.

   Yankee Doodle, keep it up,

   Yankee Doodle dandy;

   Mind the music and the step,

   And with the girls be handy.

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Example Sentences

Taxpayers can thank entertainer George M. Cohan, who wrote the song known as Yankee Doodle Dandy, for this largess.

From The Wall Street Journal

On a typical day, an American family would be more likely to entertain itself at home by singing traditional folk songs like “Barbara Allen,” patriotic songs such as “Yankee Doodle” or hymns like “Amazing Grace.”

From The Wall Street Journal

It’s all a long way from singing “Yankee Doodle” and waiting for the next traveling fair to show up.

From The Wall Street Journal

From the origins of “Yankee Doodle” to the first rock ’n’ roll single to hit No. 1—or identifying presidential nicknames and recalling movie lines—there’s much to know about culture in America.

From The Wall Street Journal

And before I could say Yankee Doodle, I was swept onto the marble dance floor and forced to divide my time among four of the South’s clumsiest, rock-footed mutineers.

From Literature