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by scoot 4615 days ago
Etymology of “dude” is traced to "doodle," as in Yankee Doodle Dandy

Which tells us nothing of what the 'doodle' in Yankee Doodle Dandy means. Yankee fine; Dandy, a foppish hipster type; Doodle???
2 comments
scoot 4615 days ago
To answer my own question: 'The word doodle first appeared in the early 17th century to mean a fool or simpleton. It may derive from the German Dudeltopf or Dudeldop, meaning simpleton or noodle (literally "nightcap").' [1]

Not sure why the author of this article couldn't be bothered to complete the etymology he started.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doodle

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mistercow 4615 days ago
Etymonline says it may have been the slang meaning of the time, which was "penis". Figures.
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