The word "Yankee" is about 300 years old. It was first used as a nickname for the colonists who settled in New England. But where did the word come from? What does it mean? How did it get into the language? There are 20 stories explaining where "Yankee" came from. But the experts say only two of these stories are believable. A number of people believe that it came from a Scottish word meaning sharp and clever. Even today, anyone who is a sharp trader is called "Yankee trader." But most experts agree that "Yankee" came from Holland. Many years ago, the Hollander who made cheese were called Jan Kees by the Germans. Some of these Hollanders came to America in the early 1600's. They settled near the New England colonists. The Hollanders were great farmers. They laughed at the colonists in the north who tried to build farms on the mountain rocks. And so, the Hollanders gave their own nickname to the New England colonists. The British quickly picked up the nickname and the New Englanders became Yankees. During the American Civil War "Yankee" took on a wider meaning. The soldiers in the northern states were called Yankees by the men of the southern army. During World War One the word was shortened to "Yank." The song "The Yanks Are Coming" brought tears and joy to the peoples of the hard-pressed Allied nations. Today, "Yankee" is known throughout the world as another name for an American. Of course, one cannot talk about "Yankee" and not mention "Doodle" or "Yankee Doodle." This phrase also has a story. It is said that in 1775 a British army doctor, Richard Shucksberg, wrote the song "Yankee Doodle" to poke fun at the colonial troops. The British army, always neat in its bright red uniforms, looked down on the rough colonial soldiers, who really were not soldiers at all, but farmers with clubs and old guns—angry farmers who rebelled against the high British taxes. One day, British army colonel, Hugh Percy, set out to collect the arms the colonists had hidden in Concord. Percy marched his men out of Boston to the tune of "Yankee Doodle." At Concord, however, the rough colonial farmers defeated the British. The farmers, now marched with pride to Boston to the tune of "Yankee Doodle." Ever since that day in 1775, "Yankee Doodle" has become an American marching song.