The word "yankee" means different things to different people. Originally, it was a bad name for people in Holland. Came from the words Jan Kees, a cheese. Later, the NY Dutch used it to name the people of Connecticut.

Now, to a european, a yankee is someone who lives in north America. To a southerner, a yankee is someone who lives above the Mason -Dixon line, to northerners, a yankee is someone who lives in New England, and in New England, a yankee is someone who lives in Vermont, and Vermonters say a Yankee is someone who eats pie for breakfast.