Etymologically
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yahoo

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 17 October 2026 at 16:19. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈjɑːhuː/[1]

Etymology

It was coined by Jonathan Swift in Gulliver's Travels (1726) as the name of a race of brutish creatures in human form,[2][3][4][5] a made-up name probably meant to suggest disgust.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A Yahoo, one of Swift's brutish creatures, ruled by the intelligent horses called Houyhnhnms: 1726.[2][6][4]

Semantic evolution

Soon yahoo was used for a coarse person or lout,[4] and in modern use, the OED notes, often for an uncultivated person, a philistine or hooligan;[2] Merriam-Webster dates this to 1773.[5] In Australia the Yahoo is a hairy man-like monster supposed to live in the east of the country, from 1842, perhaps a different word.[4][6] The exclamation yahoo!, of excitement, is from 1976,[6][7] and the internet search engine was so called from 1994.[2]

Timeline

  • 1726 – the Yahoos of Swift.[2][6]
  • 1773 – a lout (Merriam-Webster).[5]
  • 1842 – the Australian Yahoo.[6]
  • 1976 – yahoo! (exclamation).[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A crude, coarse or brutish person; a lout or philistine.

Interjection

  1. An exclamation of excitement or delight.

Word family

  • yahooism
  • Houyhnhnm
  • Lilliputian
  • brobdingnagian

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b c d Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press