# dude wheres the saga of dude? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 22, 2003, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dude-wheres-the-saga-of-dude/220549 "2003-12-22T23:10:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![netscape\_6](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/8c91f0/32.png) [@netscape\_6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/netscape_6)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2003, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dude-wheres-the-saga-of-dude/220549/1 "2003-12-22T23:10:47Z")
I use dude alot in spoken life usually as a gender neutral term similer to you or sometimes person. Anyway I realized I had never read Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court. Well so I was reading it and he used dude refering to a group of people (that he did not like from the sound of it). Now it gets interesting. While I take a break to let my head recover from reading old english. What is the origins and history of dude? ---
**Author:** ![FisherQueen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/58f4c7/32.png) [@FisherQueen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FisherQueen)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2003, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dude-wheres-the-saga-of-dude/220549/2 "2003-12-22T23:13:16Z")
Buy me a copy of the Oxford English Dictionary for Christmas, and I’ll tell you. No, really. That’s the resource you need. It has word histories for everything, and you should find a copy in your Friendly Neighborhood Public Library. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2003, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dude-wheres-the-saga-of-dude/220549/3 "2003-12-22T23:19:55Z")
The origin of _dude_ is unknown, but [here’s](http://www.observer.com/pages/story.asp?ID=7616) a little history. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2003, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dude-wheres-the-saga-of-dude/220549/4 "2003-12-22T23:42:09Z")
In early American English, “dude” was synonymous with “dandy,” ie; a man who is overly-concerned with dress and appearance, and clueless with regard to practical matters. My WAG at etymology would be that it is derived from “duds,” (articles of clothing,) which goes back to the 1400s. After being applied derisively to Easterners for quite some time, the negative connotations dropped away. (Some time after people started calling quaint Western vacation destinations “Dude Ranches.”) People started calling smart dressers “dudes” without a trace of irony. From there, it became a general term meaning someone who’s cool. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2003, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dude-wheres-the-saga-of-dude/220549/5 "2003-12-22T23:56:54Z")
From the turn-of-the-century _[Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable](http://www.bartleby.com/81/5434.html)_: > [@](#): > > **Dude**. A masher. One who renders himself conspicuous by affectation of dress, manners, and speech. The word was first familiarised in London in 1881, and is a revival of the old word _dudes_ (clothes). We have several derivations, as _dudder_, one who sells dress-pieces; _duddery_, a rag-shop; _duddle_, to wrap up warmly (_Halliwell_), etc. It is not of American origin. (I guess my WAG wasn’t that far off.) ---
**Author:** ![netscape\_6](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/8c91f0/32.png) [@netscape\_6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/netscape_6)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dude-wheres-the-saga-of-dude/220549/6 "2003-12-23T00:36:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by x-ray vision \* > \*\*The origin of _dude_ is unknown, but [here’s](http://www.observer.com/pages/story.asp?ID=7616) a little history. \*\* Dude that page contained alot of dudage, seriously. ---
**Author:** ![netscape\_6](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/8c91f0/32.png) [@netscape\_6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/netscape_6)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dude-wheres-the-saga-of-dude/220549/7 "2003-12-23T00:42:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Larry Mudd \* > \*\*In early American English, “dude” was synonymous with “dandy,” ie; a man who is overly-concerned with dress and appearance, and clueless with regard to practical matters. My WAG at etymology would be that it is derived from “duds,” (articles of clothing,) which goes back to the 1400s. > > After being applied derisively to Easterners for quite some time, the negative connotations dropped away. (Some time after people started calling quaint Western vacation destinations “Dude Ranches.”) > > People started calling smart dressers “dudes” without a trace of irony. From there, it became a general term meaning someone who’s cool. \*\* Funny how words change over time like that. This is going to make for some funney images in my mind when I’m talking to people for awhile.