"Canuck" is a term for "Canadian" in American English and Canadian English, sometimes meaning "French Canadian" in particular, especially when used in the Northeast of the United States and in Canada.
The term was coined in the 19th century, although its etymology is unclear. Possibilities include:
- kanata¹ "village" (See Canada)
- Canada + -uc (Algonquian noun suffix)
- Connaught, an obscure term for Irish-French-Canadians.
- kanaka "man" (in the Hawaiian pidgin of fur trade in the Pacific Northwest)
- The Vancouver Canucks hockey team
- Johnny Canuck, a personification of Canada who appeared in early political cartoons of the 1860s resisting Uncle Sam's bullying. Johnny Canuck was revived in 1942 by Leo Bachle to defend against the Nazis.
- In 1975 in comics by Richard Comely, Captain Canuck is a super-agent for Canadians' security, with Kebec (claimed to be unrelated to Capitaine Kébec of a French-Canadian comic published two years earlier) being his sidekick. The captain was reintroduced in the mid-1990s.
"Canuck" is a nickname for the Curtiss JN4 and Avro CF-100 aircraft.
The use of "Canuck" parallels that of some other potentially offensive nicknames, that is, when used by the people it names -- Canadians in this case -- it is usually acceptable. But when used by an outsider -- in this case particularly American strangers -- it can be easily misinterpreted and deemed as insulting one's heritage. Although it is not as severe as most ethnic slurs, some consider it one.
One of the first uses of "Canuck" -- in the form of "Kanuk"-- specifically referred to Dutch Canadians as well the French.
"Canuck" also have the rare derived meanings of a Canadian pony and a French-Canadian patois² (very rare).
A Canuck Avenue exists in Toronto.
See also: Yankee, a nickname for "an American".External links
Reference
¹ The Oxford Companion To The English Language
² Oxford English Dictionary
