yokel

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yokel

/ˈjəʊ.kəl/ UK
/ˈjoʊ.kəl/ US

Sounds like jokul · Rhymes with -əʊkəl

Where it comes 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.

noun yokels

derogatory, slang A person from or living in the countryside, viewed as being unsophisticated or naive. They love the scenery near their summer home, but have no desire to mix with the local yokels.
Similar: boor, bumpkin, country bumpkin, joskin, hayseed, hillbilly, hick, peasant, provincial, rube, rustic, yahoo

Translations

Every language

noun a person from or living in the countryside, viewed as being unsophisticated or naive

Español	palurdo, paleto, chúntaro, gueishpo
日本語	田舎者 inakamono, いなかっぺ
中文	土包子 tǔbāozi, 鄉下人 /乡下人 xiāngxiàrén, 鄉巴佬 /乡巴佬 xiāngbalǎo
हिन्दी	गवार gavār, देहाती dehātī
Português	caipira, saloio, campónio, labrego
Français	manant, plouc
Deutsch	Bauerntölpel, Hinterwäldler, Tölpel, Hanswurst, Simpel, Einfaltspinsel
Italiano	villico, campagnolo, bifolco, zappaterra, rozzo, becero
Română	țăran, mojic, bădăran
Русский	дереве́нщина derevénščina
العربية	جِلْف jilf

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MLA

"yokel." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/yokel. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

yokel. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/yokel

Chicago

"yokel." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/yokel.

BibTeX

@misc{yokel_2026,
  title = {yokel},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/yokel},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}