From an insult, to a formality, to a general term, into informal speech Such evolution!!

“Dude ranch” sounds like a frat nickname

Mark Twain used the term dude, and even dudess, in his novel "A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court" published in 1889.

When I was a kid, back in the early 60's, we played cowboys and Indians. It was common knowledge among us that any man that came from the city, and didn't carry a sidearm was a "dude". And he usually wore a bowler, instead of a Stetson. Loved hearing the full story. Doodle...who knew?

Dude, I did not know that dude has such history. Now I wonder about bruh.

El Duderino and his Dudeness are basically ethymological originalism

I've been teaching English as a second language for more than twenty years now and I always emphasize to whoever I am teaching that language is a living organism that is constantly evolving. So you can start learning a language but you can never really fathom its beautiful complexity. This video captured my attention not by the claim of tracking down the origin of "dude", but rather by the use of the term "vintage slang". Even the fact that such a term exists had me amazed by the journey of language itself over the course of time!

Didn’t expect to find dude lore

There's a wooden grave marker from the late 19th century at a cemetery in White Oaks, New Mexico that just says Dude.

"Nobody calls me Mad Dog! Especially not some Duded up, egg suckin' gutter trash!"- Buford "Mad Dog" Tannen speaking to Marty "Clint Eastwood" McFly 1885

Where I grew up dude or dood meant bug or worm. It was used as a slang term meaning “cute little bug” or “cute little thing” meaning the term dudu or doodoo was used as a term of endearment. My mother’s friends called her doodoo. The language used was Swahili mixed with Gulf Arabic 🙏🏼

Dude wheres my car, my favourite comedy for sure

Sam Elliott's character in the Big Lebowski says no one from where he is from would refer to themselves as a dude. He is literally pointing to the older pejorative meaning of the word.

I read a novel from the early 1900's in which a teenage boy who had moved from East Coast to a western ranch was offended almost to tears when called a "dude" by the local teens. The context then was not complementary or neutral.

"And the Dude still abides" Very cool. Thanks.

Ah so it's the Chuck Barry/Beach Boys connection again.

My grandmother was nicknamed dude by her younger siblings because she was the authority figure. She went by dude from 1925 till 1985

When i was a kid, my Lebanese friend would giggle when we called someone dude. Apparently, it means worm in her dialect of Arabic. But by high school, she was calling people dude too. I love how language gets integrated into a vernacular without the person even trying. Brains are neat.

That was one of the smoothest loops on a short I've seen! And it doesn't use that annoying "so now you know that..." line! Impressive!

I remember Buford "Mad Dog" Tannen, called Marty, *"DUDE"* before shooting him, in the movie: Back to the Future 3 Remember, Mad Dog Tannen was a cowboy, in 1885... Never knew that BTTF, put so much thoughts into every little detal

So at first it meant a fancy man, and then a chill/cool/hip man, and now it's a casual address for anyone regardless of gender 👍

The Dude still abides, I love nod to the Big Lebowski

The fact that dude could be in the same circles as dandy, macaroni, and fop... I love it

My Great Uncle, who was born somewhere around 1906 in rural southwestern Oklahoma, was nicknamed Dude from a very early age by his Dad. He was aways the one to dude up, as he would be looking sharp and cool!

I'm old enough to have known that dude ranches used to be a thing.

Looked this up after Mad Dog called Marty "dude" in Back to the Future 3, was absolutely dumbfounded when I found out it wasn't an anachronism

Back in the late 80's in LA I worked with a guy who was straight off the boat from Scotland. The way we used dude cracked him up. He thought it sounded like a royal title.

nyrdy nugget: "Dudley," is an Old English name meaning "people's field"; it combines elements from "dudd" (meaning people) and "lēah" (meaning clearing or meadow) & has attested use in England predating the Norman Conquest in 1066.

Partially correct. It became common to refer to the ranch hands eg. the "dude ranch" as dudes. The largest private cattle ranch is still located on Maui. The dudes that shipped them (the cows) to HI were all working in the Santa Fe area, that's where the cows came from. Once there, on Maui, they (the dudes) learned to surf. The dudes that made their way back to Santa Fe brought surfing with them and dude took on a new meaning. From there it crept into San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Baja etc., and was exported to Chicago and New York during the civil rights campaign. Now we's all dudes. Edit: Santa Fe Springs, El Rancho Santa Fe. That's how I learned it

I believe that people could fully communicate just by saying "dude" in the appropriate tone.

Dude is like, one of my favorite words, dude

I wonder if during the time it was used in Black English, they were using it specifically to refer to *white* “dudes”😂 because the progression of the word after that makes a lot of sense 😅

When you said Yankee Doodle Dandy, I really thought I saw the whole trajectory. But then you threw in Dude Ranches, & my brain skipped for a second. Those moments are what learning is all about.

Okay, but what about an etymological tie-in with “doodie”? Really dropping the ball number 2 style, here.

One of my Great Great Grandpas was named Dude Brown. He was the “Last Sheriff of the Wild West” in Eastern Washington.

Weird, people are young enough to not know this or what a dude ranch is, only knowing it as coastal slang. I guess I'm getting old.

important to note that, in it's current usage, "dude" is gender neutral. As a SoCal surfer/skater, we use it as a general catch-all, but only really for people who we think are cool. I would never use it for someone I dislike.

now i’m proud that i say “dude” every 3rd word when talking to my fellow bros.

As a trivia buff I thank you profusely for sharing

Mucho Appreciation Dudette !

I found out a couple of years ago that "Wow" has been around since the early 16th century, originating in Scotland. Wow!

Was today years old (61 yrs) when I learned this but wish I new this my whole life

Fun fact, the John Wayne movie "McClintock" has the word dude in it, showing that it was at least around when the movie was made. But not necessarily around in the era the movie was set, however

I was taught that "dude" originated from "German Cowboys" greeting each other with "Was machst du da?" which roughly translated to "What/How are you doing?". Other "native English-speaking" cowboys/ranch hands would only hear the "du da" part and would say "Howdy, du da". Fast forward a couple years and "du da" was shortened to "dude". 🤠

I knew most of this, but I didn't know that Dude was originally Spelled "Dood". Hillarious!

I remember the first time somebody addressed me as ‘dude’. It was ten years ago in a café. “Here’s your coffee, dude.” England, 2014. I was sixty years old. Goodness, I thought - I’ve arrived.

i'd not heard the term "dude ranch" before but as soon as it came up my immediate thought was of "The Big Country" western where the protag is often referred to as the dude - for years I wondered why. You've made everything make sense.

That is crazy because I remember when it became mainstream. For the longest time it seemed like only skater/surfers or punk rockers used it unironically. Then all the sudden it was everywhere. But had no idea it's been around that long.

Yankee Doodle went to town A-riding on a pony, Stuck a feather in his cap And called it macaroni. Yankee Doodle keep it up, Yankee Doodle dandy, Mind the music and the step, And with the girls be handy.

"Dude, where's my car?" "Where's your car, dude?"

As an elderly man, dude is a term of endearment between friends and if used with care , strangers too.

Yankee doodle dandy is such a perfect term for people like that

Hey, just wanted to share that, in my experience, before the 1990s, it was more common for guys to address each other as "man" instead of "dude."

There's also a theory that an Irish word "duid"(possibly misspelled) which was common in the mid 19th century and meant something like "foolish looking" may have inspired it

"Dude, where's my car" what a niche reference 😂

Having grown up in ranch country I was familiar with "dude" as a cowboy wannabe. As a Gen Xer, I am excellently familiar with it's use as a generic noun of address. I did not know it had anything to do with "Yankee Doodle"

Bro I loooove etymology/etiology videos like this!!! 🤔🤩📚🙌 I hope you will make more of these 😊🙌

Videos like this in the future are gonna be real interesting when it comes to the evolving history of tiktok gen slang

it’s funny cuz probably someone started using this in a village, city or something and it went getting common and commented by people, it’s like the “words” we say today on social medias but at the time this was person to person

"I'd throw away my collar/and dress up like a dood/in a shirt/ and a dickie/ and a tie."-Billy Bigelow, Rogers and Hammerstien's "Carousel"

Righteous. And the dude abides...

"Dude, where's my car?", classic

When I saw 'DUDE" in the thumbnail, I thought you were talking to me.

As soon as you started, "dude ranch" popped into my mind unbidden.

I found a recording of Streets of Cairo listed as from 1899 which uses dudes in a recognizably modern sense, in that it can be interpreted as a group of men. It can be found here on YT

I can't believe you forgot the elephant dingleberry

The question "Dude where's my car?" must always be followed with the response "Where's your car dude?"

A little surprised that you didn't focus more on just how actively *disparaging* a word the original 'dude' was--it not only meant 'city dweller' and the other things you mentioned, but was also quite a bit in the direction of fey, pansy, sissy-boy, etc. :P

Well, great vid but great comments too! Being French and fluent (so I hope!) in British English and managing a little Spanish, I'm always curious about the origins and evolution of slang - the French use a LOT of slang, some of which I'm don't necessarily favour. Now, this video has taught me a lot about the word "dude" and it fits the impression I had regarding its use: when "not to", when "ok" and where it comes from.Thanks!

Fascinating! I learned something new today - thanks!

All these years I've been spelling it "dood" just to be different and now I know it's the original spelling!

My son (b. 1994) once used it as some kind of punctuation or emphasis whenhe was a teenager, "Dude dad did you see .... " 😮😂

Dude, this is totally tubular!

I remember I was watching an L.A. Noire video from like 13 years ago and one guy used the word "cringe". I legit did bot know "cringe" was this old.

it’s one of my favorite, most used words

I was taught in school that dude actually means the infected ingrown hair on an elephant’s butt. No I am not kidding. Our English teacher gave a lesson on it to prove her point that it is actually a ridiculous and insulting term to use to refer to one’s classmates. I just thought it was ridiculous that such a thing as ingrown elephant butt hair had its own term that people were privy to 😂!

I heard back in the 1980s that DUDE was a name for an: Ingrown butt hair of an elephant... 😂

Aw, “vintage slang” Dang. I remember when it was just regular slang. And I still use it.

No one can describe definitely and in brevity what "The dude abides." mean until this day.

is dude gender neutral yet?

Very Rad

I recall my brother's friend calling a dude a dude in 1964. At that time it was the first reference to it that I had heard of.

Dude I had no idea thats where dude ranch came from but it makes so much sense

Duuuuude!

DUDE!!!!

As a person born in 89...I still can't get it out of my daily speech. It just feels right lol.

But in the actual movie the Big Lebowski, i wish you'd do one just of Walter and the old Lebowskis vocabulary. The insults they use are great and i dont understand them. Like they both say goldbricker a couple of times. I hadn't heard that until the movie

Dude just wanted his rug back.

Brah

In my recollection, the term dude referred to an urban person on a ranch. Using it as a form of address was restricted to subcultures.

Mind blown! That's one of the coolest things I've learned in a while! Thank you!

"Mad Dog" Tannen taught me about that when he derided Marty McFly for being "all duded up"

Interesting origin. Not a fan of contemporary usage nor the word buddy.

Only 1890s kids remember.

Dude is something I heard in old western movies, that my father made me with in 1950s and 60s

Dude was introduced to England in the late middle ages by a mysterious alien wizard rockstar in dark eye-glasses, and a Scottish accent standing on a massive iron chariot, playing some sort of wonderful devilish lyre

I was particularly interested in this Short cos I think I chanced upon the word "dude" uttered during a random gaming session of Red Dead Redemption 2. I was rightly confused, but now thinking back on it, Rockstar really were dedicated to their details afterall since it takes place in the very late 1800's, where the word would have been a thing according to this Short... that's actually insane!

Now this is what I call valuable information, dude.

please use captions. there is no excuse for PBS to not have access for the PUBLIC

A perfect video for Paris in vintage fashion.