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yo·kel

(yōkəl) Informal

A rustic; a bumpkin.

[Perhaps from German dialectal Jokel, Jockel, bumpkin (from diminutive of the name Jakob, German equivalent of English James and Jacob) or from English dialectal yuckle, European green woodpecker (Picus viridis), probably a variant of English hickwall (from Middle English hyghwhele, probably from an imitation of its high-pitched call ).]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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