stateside

Etymology

It is formed from English States + side,^{[2][3][4][5][6]} “the States” being the United States, the plural of state.^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the continental United States: by 1939, in the jargon of American sailors stationed in Hawaii, then a territory.^[3] The OED's first record of the adjective is from 1942, in the Williamsburg (Iowa) Journal-Tribune,^[2] and Merriam-Webster also dates it to 1942.^[4]

Semantic evolution

The word was popularised in American military slang of the Second World War;^[3] Hendrickson suggests that it may have been coined by GIs, since it is first recorded when many soldiers were far from home.^[7] The adverb, in or towards the continental United States, followed in 1943 according to Merriam-Webster and in 1944 according to the OED.^[4][2] Green's Dictionary of Slang quotes Robert Sherrod's Tarawa of 1944: "I want a stateside ticket".^[8]

Timeline

• 1939 – in the continental United States, in the jargon of American sailors in Hawaii.^[3]
• 1942 – adjective, of or in the continental United States.^[2][4]
• 1943 – adverb, in or towards the continental United States.^[4] The OED dates the adverb to 1944.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Of, in, from or typical of the United States, as seen from abroad: stateside newspapers.^[4][9][2]

Adverb

1. In, to or towards the continental United States: They shipped stateside after the war.^[4][9][2]

Word family

• Statesider

Related words

• state
• side

Usage notes

The word is often capitalized.^[4][6] The Shorter Oxford labels it colloquial and chiefly American.^[6] Within the United States, Hendrickson says, it is now used mainly by Alaskans for the mainland, and rarely in Hawaii.^[7]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
6. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b Hendrickson, Robert (2008), The Facts on File Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins, 4th ed., New York: Facts on File
8. ^ Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
9. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins