Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

yokel

/ˈjoʊ.kəl/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.91 in modern English

Syllables: yo-kel
IPA: /ˈjoʊ.kəl/

12

Scrabble Score

5

Letters

2

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A person from or living in the countryside, viewed as being unsophisticated or naive.

Derogatory; Slang

Example Sentences

"They love the scenery near their summer home, but have no desire to mix with the local yokels."
"“[…] my opinion at once is […] that this [robbery] wasn’t done by a yokel―eh, Duff?” “Certainly not,” replied Duff. “And, translating the word yokel, for the benefit of the ladies, I apprehend your meaning to be that this attempt was not made by a countryman?” said Mr. Losberne with a smile."
"[…] and yokels looking up at the tinselled dancers and poor old rouged tumblers, while the light-fingered folk are operating upon their pockets behind."
"He eyed the story-teller with unspeakable wonder. His mouth was agape in yokel fashion."
""God damn and blast all you hamfisted yokels!" he was saying. "And you, sir, down there. Take that grin off your face and be more careful, or I'll have you clapped under hatches to sail with us today. Easy, there, easy! Christ, rum at seven guineas an anker isn't meant to be dropped like pig iron!""
"I went to New York and bought myself a secondhand stretch limousine twenty-eight feet long, calculated to reduce the most blasé country-club sophisticates to bug-eyed yokels."

Etymology

First use appears c. 1812, possibly from dialectal German Jokel, diminutive of Jakob, cf. Yankee (“little John”) and jacquerie (“a peasant uprising”). Alternatively, from dialectal English yokel, yuckle (“a European green woodpecker”), itself probably a variant of hickwall.

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈjoʊ.kəl/
British English: /ˈjəʊ.kəl/

Usage

Inflected Forms

yokels (plural)

Derived Forms

wokel yob yokeldom yokelish yokelism yokelry

Phrases

local yokel

Synonyms

boor bumpkin country bumpkin joskin hayseed hillbilly hick peasant provincial rube rustic yahoo

Homonyms

jokul

Rhymes With

local vocal focal socle subvocal nonvocal bocal bivocal semivocal jokul

Questions

How do you pronounce yokel?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈjoʊ.kəl/.
What does yokel mean?: A person from or living in the countryside, viewed as being unsophisticated or naive.
Where does yokel come from?: First use appears c. 1812, possibly from dialectal German Jokel, diminutive of Jakob, cf. Yankee (“little John”) and jacquerie (“a peasant uprising”). Alternatively, from dialectal English yokel, yuckle (“a European green woodpecker”), itself probably a variant of hickwall.

How to pronounce yokel

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “yokel”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈjoʊ.kəl/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “yokel”.
Repeat and practice — Say “yokel” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.