A Hoosier (pronounced /ˈhuːʒɚ/) is a nickname sometimes used to describe a person from the U.S. state of Indiana. Though other states have typically used the state name as a nickname e.g. Indianan or Indianian, these nicknames are never used by actual persons in or from Indiana. People in Indiana adopted the nickname over 150 years ago.^[1] "Hoosiers" is also the mascot for Indiana University athletic teams and the title of an award-winning 1986 movie Hoosiers starring Gene Hackman, based on the story of the Milan High school basketball team and its road to winning the state championship. The word Hoosier is sometimes used in the names of Indiana-based businesses. In other parts of the country, the word has been adapted for other uses (see Other uses).

Origin

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the etymology of the word is unknown, but it has been in use since at least 1826. According to Bill Bryson, there are many suggestions for the derivation of the word "Hoosier," but none is universally accepted.

It first came into general usage in the 1830s. John Finley of Richmond, Indiana wrote a poem, The Hoosier's Nest^[2], which was used as the "Carrier's Address" of the Indianapolis Journal, January 1, 1833. As it came into common usage, the debates about the term's origin began.^[3].

Jacob Piatt Dunn would be the most serious historian looking into the origin of the term "Hoosier" as a term used to describe citizens of Indiana.^[4]

Some folkloric etymologies

Frontier banter

This idea suggests the term was a greeting. When approaching a man's home in those early frontier days, you shouted from afar, "Hello, the cabin!" to avoid being shot. The inhabitants would then shout back "Who'sh 'ere?" (who's there). As it got slurred together over time, the country folk came to be called Hoosiers.

A variant of this story combines "Who's" and "your", such as in "Who'sh yer 'pa?". Additionally, the poet James Whitcomb Riley facetiously suggested that the fierce brawling that took place in Indiana involved enough ear biting that the expression "Whose ear?" was common enough to be notable.

Pugilistic boatmen

Indiana rivermen were so spectacularly successful in trouncing or "hushing" their adversaries in the brawling that was then common that they became known as "hushers."

Mr. Hoosier's men

One possible origin of the term "Hoosier" comes from the construction of the Louisville and Portland Canal

A contractor reportedly named Samuel Hoosier preferred to hire workers from Indiana during the construction of the Louisville and Portland Canal (1826-1831) in Louisville. His employees became known as "Hoosier's men" and finally just "Hoosiers."

This story is reported by Dunn (1907:16-17) as being told in 1901 by a man who heard this story from a Hoosier family member while traveling in southern Tennessee. However, Dunn’s research could find no-one in southern Tennessee who had heard the story, nor could he find any family of that name in any directory in the region. In spite of Dunn’s skepticism, this version has been accepted by Evan Bayh, who has served as Indiana governor and senator, and by Senator Vance Hartke, who introduced this story into the Congressional Record (1975), according to Graf.

A similar story involves the National Road, which began in Cumberland, Maryland, and slowly extended westward, reaching Indiana in 1829-1834. As plans were made to extend the highway to Richmond, Indiana, the call went out for laborers. Knowing that the federal government would pay "top dollar," the employees of a contractor in the Indiana Territory reportedly named Robert Hoosier asked their boss if they could go work for this higher wage in the neighboring state of Ohio. Mr. Hoosier gave his consent, asking them to return to work for him when this section of the road was done.

Just as in the Sam Hoosier story, the crew of Indiana workers proved to be industrious, conscientious, and efficient. The Federal foreman referred to the group as "Hoosiers" meaning they were workers that Robert Hoosier had allowed to join the national work crew. It wasn't long before people along the National Road used the term to describe the folks living in the territory to the west.

This story is not mentioned in Dunn’s or Mencken’s research, but if there were such a contractor and such events, they would have taken place after the term “Hoosier” was already well established in Appalachia and was becoming attached to Indiana.

Hussars

In this story, a veteran of the Napoleonic wars, Col. John Jacob Lehmanowsky, settled in Indiana later in life and gave lectures on the “Wars of Europe” in which he extolled the virtues of the hussars, which his audience heard as “hoosiers.” Young men wishing to identify with these virtues called themselves Hoosiers, enough of them that eventually all Indianans were called Hoosiers.

Weaknesses of this story include the unlikely mispronunciation of hussar as Hoosier and the fact that Lehmanowsky did not come to Indiana until 1833, by which time the term was already well established.

Other uses

A Hoosier cabinet, often shortened to "hoosier", is a type of free-standing kitchen cabinet popular in the early decades of the twentieth century. Almost all of these cabinets were produced by companies located in Indiana. The name is derived from the largest of them, the Hoosier Manufacturing Co. of New Castle, Indiana.^[5]

In St. Louis, Missouri, the word is used in a derogatory fashion in similar context to "white trash".^[6]

Other Indiana businesses use Hoosier in the name of their company: 1) Hoosier Racing Tire, manufacturer of racing tires; and 2) Hoosier Bat Company, manufacturer of wood baseball bats.

As the mascot of Indiana University, the Hoosier is the subject of debate, primarily concerning the term's meaning and origin. As there is no physical embodiment of a Hoosier, IU is represented through their letters and colors alone.

The RCA Dome, home of the Indianapolis Colts, was once known as the Hoosier Dome.

Famous References

• Hoosier was referred to in Kurt Vonnegut's book, Cat's Cradle.
• Serial killer Carl Panzram's last words were reportedly, "Hurry it up, you Hoosier bastard! I could kill 10 men while you're fooling around!"

References

1. Indiana State Emblems Indiana State Library
2. The Hoosier's Nest
3. Indiana Historical Society
4. Indiana Historical Society
5. RootsWeb
6. J. Graf The Word Hoosier Indiana University Libraries, Bloomington

See also

• Hoosier Hysteria
• Hoosier Group

External links

• Article on the name "Hoosier" from the Indiana University Alumni Association
• Hoosier National Forest "What is a 'Hoosier'" Web page
• Article: Explanation of "Hoosiers" by Dave Barry

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Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia; from the article "Hoosier". Image Credit.

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