Editing Yankee (section)

===Rejected etymologies===
Many etymologies have been suggested for the word ''Yankee'', but modern linguists generally reject theories that suggest it originated in any Indigenous languages.<ref name="MW"/> This includes a theory put forth by a British officer in 1789, who said that it was derived from the [[Cherokee language|Cherokee]] word ''eankke'' meaning "coward"—despite the fact that no such word existed in the Cherokee language.<ref name="MW">''The Merriam-Webster new book of word histories'' (1991) pp. 516–517.</ref> Another theory surmised that the word was borrowed from the [[Wyandot people|Wyandot]]<ref>The Wyandot people were called Hurons by the French.</ref> pronunciation of the French ''l'anglais'', meaning "the Englishman" or "the English language", which was sounded as ''Y'an-gee''.<ref name="MW"/><ref>Mathews (1951) p.&nbsp;1896.</ref>

American musicologist [[Oscar Sonneck]] debunked a romanticized false etymology in his 1909 work ''Report on "The Star-Spangled Banner", "Hail Columbia", "America", "Yankee Doodle"''. He cited a popular theory that claimed the word came from a tribe who called themselves ''Yankoos'', said to mean "invincible". The story claimed that New Englanders had defeated this tribe after a bloody battle, and the remaining ''Yankoo'' Indians transferred their name to the victors—who were "agreeable to the Indian custom". Sonneck notes that multiple American writers since 1775 had repeated this story as if it were fact, despite what he perceived to be holes in it. It had never been the tradition of any Indian tribe to transfer their name to other peoples, according to Sonneck, nor had any settlers ever adopted an Indian name to describe themselves.<ref>This is not to be confused with adopting an Indian name for a geographical location.</ref> Sonneck concludes by pointing out that there was never a tribe called the ''Yankoos''.<ref>{{cite book | last = Sonneck | first = O. G. | title = Report on "The star-spangled banner", "Hail Columbia", "America", "Yankee Doodle | publisher = University Press of the Pacific | location = Honolulu, Hawaii | year = 2001 | page = 83 | isbn = 0898755328 }}</ref>