A Hoosier (pronounced /ˈhuːʒɚ/) is a nickname sometimes used to describe a person from the U.S. state of Indiana. A US state is any one of the fifty subnational entities of the United States of America that share Sovereignty with the federal government The State of Indiana ( was the 19th US state admitted into the union Though other states have typically used the state name as a nickname e. g. Indianan or Indianian, these nicknames are never used by actual persons in or from Indiana. People in Indiana adopted the nickname over 150 years ago. [1] "Hoosiers" is also the mascot for Indiana University athletic teams and the title of an award-winning 1986 movie Hoosiers starring Gene Hackman, based on the story of the Milan High School basketball team and its road to winning the state championship. Indiana University's athletic teams are called the Hoosiers and their colors are cream and crimson though red and white have been used at times in the past This page is about the movie "Hoosiers" Hoosiers is also the nickname of Indiana University athletic teams see Indiana Hoosiers. Eugene Allen "Gene" Hackman (born January 30, 1930) is a two-time Academy Award -winning American actor and author Milan High School is a small high school located at 609 N Warpath Drive Milan Indiana. The word Hoosier is sometimes used in the names of Indiana-based businesses. In other parts of the country, the word has been adapted for other uses (see Other uses). Hoosier (ˈhuːʒɚ is the official Demonym for a resident of the U
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Origin
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the etymology of the word is unknown, but it has been in use since at least 1826. The Oxford English Dictionary ( OED) published by the Oxford University Press (OUP is a comprehensive Dictionary of the English Etymology is the study of the History of Words &mdash when they entered a language from what source and how their form and meaning have changed over time For the game see 1826 (board game. Year 1826 ( MDCCCXXVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display According to Bill Bryson, there are many suggestions for the derivation of the word "Hoosier," but none is universally accepted. William McGuire "Bill" Bryson, OBE, (born 8 December 1951 is a best-selling American Author of humorous books on Travel, as well
It first came into general usage in the 1830s. John Finley of Richmond, Indiana wrote a poem, The Hoosier's Nest[2], which was used as the "Carrier's Address" of the Indianapolis Journal, January 1, 1833. Richmond (ˈrɪtʃmənd is a city in Wayne Township, Wayne County, in east central Indiana, which borders Ohio. New Year See also New Year The Ancient Romans began their consular year on January 1st since 153 BC Year 1833 ( MDCCCXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common As it came into common usage, the debates about the term's origin began. [3].
Jacob Piatt Dunn would be the most serious historian looking into the origin of the term "Hoosier" as a term used to describe citizens of Indiana. Jacob Piatt Dunn ( April 12, 1855 - June 6, 1924) was an American historian and author of several books [4]
Some folkloric etymologies
Frontier banter
This idea suggests the term was a greeting. When approaching a man's home in those early frontier days, you shouted from afar, "Hello, the cabin!" to avoid being shot. The inhabitants would then shout back "Who'sh 'ere?" (who's there). As it got slurred together over time, the country folk came to be called Hoosiers.
A variant of this story combines "Who's" and "your", such as in "Who'sh yer 'pa?". Additionally, the poet James Whitcomb Riley facetiously suggested that the fierce brawling that took place in Indiana involved enough ear biting that the expression "Whose ear?" was common enough to be notable. James Whitcomb Riley ( Greenfield, Indiana, October 7, 1849 &ndash July 22, 1916) was an American
Pugilistic boatmen
Indiana rivermen were so spectacularly successful in trouncing or "hushing" their adversaries in the brawling that was then common that they became known as "hushers. "
Mr. Hoosier's men
A contractor reportedly named Samuel Hoosier preferred to hire workers from Indiana during the construction of the Louisville and Portland Canal (1826-1831) in Louisville. The Louisville and Portland Canal was a canal bypassing the Falls of the Ohio in the Ohio River near Louisville Kentucky. The McAlpine Locks and Dam refers to the series of locks and the Hydroelectric dam in Louisville Kentucky at the Falls of the Ohio. His employees became known as "Hoosier's men" and finally just "Hoosiers. "
This story is reported by Dunn (1907:16-17) as being told in 1901 by a man who heard this story from a Hoosier family member while traveling in southern Tennessee. However, Dunn’s research could find no-one in southern Tennessee who had heard the story, nor could he find any family of that name in any directory in the region. In spite of Dunn’s skepticism, this version has been accepted by Evan Bayh, who has served as Indiana governor and senator, and by Senator Vance Hartke, who introduced this story into the Congressional Record (1975), according to Graf. Rupert Vance Hartke ( May 31 1919 – July 27 2003) was a Democratic United States Senator from Indiana from
A similar story involves the National Road, which began in Cumberland, Maryland, and slowly extended westward, reaching Indiana in 1829-1834. US 40svg|right|100px|thumb|The National Road is now included as part of U Cumberland is one of the 39 Historic counties of England. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974 (excluding Carlisle from 1915 and now forms part of As plans were made to extend the highway to Richmond, Indiana, the call went out for laborers. Richmond (ˈrɪtʃmənd is a city in Wayne Township, Wayne County, in east central Indiana, which borders Ohio. Knowing that the federal government would pay "top dollar," the employees of a contractor in the Indiana Territory reportedly named Robert Hoosier asked their boss if they could go work for this higher wage in the neighboring state of Ohio. Indiana Territory was an Organized territory of the United States from 1800 to 1816 created by Act of Congress and signed into law by President Ohio ( is a Midwestern state of the United States. As part of the Great Lakes region, Ohio has long been a cultural and geographical crossroads Mr. Hoosier gave his consent, asking them to return to work for him when this section of the road was done.
Just as in the Sam Hoosier story, the crew of Indiana workers proved to be industrious, conscientious, and efficient. The Federal foreman referred to the group as "Hoosiers" meaning they were workers that Robert Hoosier had allowed to join the national work crew. It wasn't long before people along the National Road used the term to describe the folks living in the territory to the west.
This story is not mentioned in Dunn’s or Mencken’s research, but if there were such a contractor and such events, they would have taken place after the term “Hoosier” was already well established in Appalachia and was becoming attached to Indiana.
Hussars
In this story, a veteran of the Napoleonic wars, Col. John Jacob Lehmanowsky, settled in Indiana later in life and gave lectures on the “Wars of Europe” in which he extolled the virtues of the hussars, which his audience heard as “hoosiers. Hussar (original Hungarian spelling huszár, plural huszárok, Husaria refers to a number of types of Light cavalry created in Hungary ” Young men wishing to identify with these virtues called themselves Hoosiers, enough of them that eventually all Indianans were called Hoosiers.
Weaknesses of this story include the unlikely mispronunciation of hussar as Hoosier and the fact that Lehmanowsky did not come to Indiana until 1833, by which time the term was already well established.
Other uses
A Hoosier cabinet, often shortened to "hoosier", is a type of free-standing kitchen cabinet popular in the early decades of the twentieth century. A Hoosier cabinet (also known as a "Hoosier" is a type of Cupboard popular in the first decades of the twentieth century Almost all of these cabinets were produced by companies located in Indiana. The name is derived from the largest of them, the Hoosier Manufacturing Co. of New Castle, Indiana. New Castle is a city in Henry County, Indiana, 44 miles (71 km east-northeast of Indianapolis, on the
In St. Louis, Missouri, the word is used in a derogatory fashion in similar context to "white trash". White trash is a Pejorative term targeted at lower social class White people with poor prospects and/or low levels of education [5] While "hoosier" may still be heard in areas of the south in its original, disparaging meaning of "uncouth rustic," the term seems to be slowly losing currency. One important pocket of linguistic resistance, however, remains. Thomas E. Murray carefully analysed the use of "hoosier" in St. Louis, Missouri, where it is the favorite epithet of abuse. "When asked what a Hoosier is," Murray writes, "St. Louisans readily list a number of defining characteristics, among which are 'lazy,' 'slow-moving,' 'derelict,' and 'irresponsible. '" He continues, "Few epithets in St. Louis carry the pejorative connotations or the potential for eliciting negative responses that hoosier does. " He conducted tests and interviews across lines of age and race and tabulated the results. He found the term ecumenically applied. He also noted the word was often used with a modifier, almost redundantly, as in "some damn Hoosier. "
In a separate section Murray speaks of the history of the word and cites Baker and Carmony (1975) and speculates on why Hoosier (in Indiana a "neutral or, more often, positive" term) should remain "alive and well in St. Louis, occupying as it does the honored position of being the city's number one term of derogation. " A radio broadcast took up where Murray left off. During the program, "Fresh Air," Jeffrey Lunberg, a language commentator, answered questions about regional nicknames. He cited Elaine Viets, a Post-Dispatch columnist (also quoted by Paul Dickson), as saying that in St. Louis a "Hoosier is a low-life redneck, somebody you can recognize because they have a car on concrete blocks in their front yard and are likely to have just shot their wife who may also be their sister. "[6]
Other Indiana businesses use Hoosier in the name of their company: 1) Hoosier Racing Tire, manufacturer of racing tires; and 2) Hoosier Bat Company, manufacturer of wood baseball bats. Hoosier Racing Tire is an American tire manufacturer primarily specializing in the production of tires for competition use
As the mascot of Indiana University, the Hoosier is the subject of debate, primarily concerning the term's meaning and origin. Indiana University, founded in 1820, is a nine-campus University system in the state of Indiana. As there is no physical embodiment of a Hoosier, IU is represented through their letters and colors alone.
The RCA Dome, home of the Indianapolis Colts, was once known as the Hoosier Dome. The RCA Dome was a Domed Stadium located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and the home of the Indianapolis Colts NFL franchise
Famous References
- Hoosier was referred to in Kurt Vonnegut's book, Cat's Cradle. Kurt Vonnegut Jr (November 11 1922 – April 11 2007 (ˈvɒnəgət was a prolific and genre-bending American Novelist known for works blending Satire, Black For other uses see Cat's cradle (disambiguation. Cat's Cradle is a 1963 Science fiction Novel by Kurt Vonnegut
- Serial killer Carl Panzram's last words were reportedly, "Hurry it up, you Hoosier bastard! I could kill 10 men while you're fooling around!"
References
- ^ Indiana State Emblems Indiana State Library
- ^ The Hoosier's Nest
- ^ Indiana Historical Society
- ^ Indiana Historical Society
- ^ J. A serial killer is a person who Murders usually three or more people with a "cooling off" period between each murder and whose motivation for killing is largely based Carl Panzram ( June 28, 1891 &ndash September 5, 1930) was an American Serial killer. Graf The Word Hoosier Indiana University Libraries, Bloomington
- ^ J. Graf The Word Hoosier Indiana University Libraries, Bloomington
See also
External links
- Article on the name "Hoosier" from the Indiana University Alumni Association
- Hoosier National Forest "What is a 'Hoosier'" Web page
- Article: Explanation of "Hoosiers" by Dave Barry
Dictionary
Hoosier
-noun
- A native or resident of the American state of Indiana.
- An alumnus of Indiana University.
- In slang from St. Louis, Missouri, the term "Hoosier" is used to mean something like "white trash", referring to an uneducated, tasteless Caucasian person.
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