yokel
Valid in Scrabble
- Scrabble points
- 12
- Words With Friends
- 12
- Letters
- 5
See all 2 pronunciations Show less
Definition of yokel
1 sense · 1 part of speech · etymology included
noun
-
(derogatory, slang)A person from or living in the countryside, viewed as being unsophisticated or naive.
“They love the scenery near their summer home, but have no desire to mix with the local yokels.”
““[…] my opinion at once is […] that this [robbery] wasn’t done by a yokel―eh, Duff?” “Certainly not,” replied Duff. “And, translating the word yokel, for the benefit of the ladies, I apprehend your meaning to be that this attempt was not made by a countryman?” said Mr. Losberne with a smile.”
“[…] and yokels looking up at the tinselled dancers and poor old rouged tumblers, while the light-fingered folk are operating upon their pockets behind.”
“He eyed the story-teller with unspeakable wonder. His mouth was agape in yokel fashion.”
“"God damn and blast all you hamfisted yokels!" he was saying. "And you, sir, down there. Take that grin off your face and be more careful, or I'll have you clapped under hatches to sail with us today. Easy, there, easy! Christ, rum at seven guineas an anker isn't meant to be dropped like pig iron!"”
Definitions from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA.
Etymology
First use appears c. 1812, possibly from dialectal German Jokel, diminutive of Jakob, cf. Yankee (“little John”) and jacquerie (“a peasant uprising”). Alternatively, from dialectal English yokel, yuckle (“a European green woodpecker”), itself probably a variant of hickwall.
Anagrams of yokel
5 plays · some not in Scrabble
Words you can make from yokel
20 playable · top: YELK (11 pts)
Best play yelk 11 points4-letter words
3 words3-letter words
9 words2-letter words
7 wordsHooks
1 extension · 1 back
A single letter you can add to yokel to make another valid word.
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