Word of the Day

: December 28, 2008

yokel

noun YOH-kul

What It Means

: a naive or gullible inhabitant of a rural area or small town

yokel in Context

"I was trying to get off the subway," complained Amy, "but some befuddled yokels were blocking the door, trying to figure out if this was their stop."

Did You Know?

The origins of "yokel" are uncertain, but it might have come from the dialectal English word "yokel," meaning "green woodpecker." Other words for supposedly naive country folk are "chawbacon" (from "chaw," meaning "chew," and "bacon"), "hayseed" (which has obvious connections to country life), and "clodhopper" (indicating a clumsy, heavy-footed rustic). But city slickers don't always have the last word: rural folk have had their share of labels for city-dwellers too. One simple example from current use is the often disparaging use of the adjective "citified." A more colorful (albeit historical) example is "cockney," which literally means "cock's egg," or more broadly "misshapen egg." In the past, this word often designated a spoiled or foppish townsman -- as opposed to the sturdy countryman, that is.