Canuck

Canuck, a term coined in the 19th century, means "Canadian" in American English and Canadian English, but sometimes especially "French Canadian" in the Northeast of the United States and in Canada.

Table of contents

1 Etymology 2 Uses 3 Miscellaneous 4 External links 5 Reference

Etymology

The etymology of "Canuck" 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)

Uses

The use of "Canuck" by Canadians themselves can be, and usually is, nationalistic or patriotic. Prominent examples of such use:

• 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 mid-1990s.

Despite being superheroes, Johny Canuck and Captain Canuck possess no superpowers. Canada Post released in 1995 45-cent stamps of them.

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.

Miscellaneous

"Canuck" also have the rare derived meanings of a Canadian pony and a French-Canadian patois² (very rare).

A Canuck Avenue exists in Toronto.

External links

• Images and Uses, etc: by an American
  • Most links are dead on that page.
• Johnny Canuck: with a stamp illustration
• Captain Canuck: with a stamp illustration
• Official descriptions from Canada Post

Reference

¹ The Oxford Companion To The English Language
² OED

See also: Yankee, a nickname for "an American".