Definition

1. Noun:
   • A crude, brutish, or uncouth person: A person who is considered to be coarse, vulgar, or lacking in culture and intelligence.
   • A member of a fictional race: One of a race of brutish, human-like creatures subject to the Houyhnhnms (the intelligent horses) in Jonathan Swift's 1726 satirical novel Gulliver's Travels.
   • (Proper noun, often capitalized) A major internet company and web services provider: A corporation known historically for its web portal, search engine, email service, and various online media and services.

Usage

• The term yahoo is most commonly used as a noun to describe a person with uncivilized behavior.
• When capitalized (Yahoo), it almost exclusively refers to the internet company.
• The literary reference is specific to Swift's work and is used in discussions of literature and satire.

Examples

• Noun (describing a person):
  • He acted like a complete yahoo, shouting and throwing things at the concert.
  • Don't be such a yahoo; have some manners at the dinner table.
• Noun (literary reference):
  • In Gulliver's Travels, the Yahoos represent the worst aspects of humanity.
  • The philosopher compared the mob's behavior to that of Swift's Yahoos.
• Proper Noun (company):
  • I check my news feed on Yahoo every morning.
  • She has had the same Yahoo email address for over twenty years.

Advanced Usage

• "yahooism": (rare) Behavior or attitudes characteristic of a yahoo; brutishness.
  • The political debate descended into pure yahooism, with name-calling and no substance.
• The literary term is often used in academic or critical writing to symbolize base human nature, greed, and ignorance.

Variants and Related Words

• Yahooing: (verb, rare) Behaving like a yahoo; acting in a loud, uncouth manner.
  • He was yahooing around the bar, annoying all the other patrons.
• Yahooish: (adjective) Resembling or characteristic of a yahoo.
  • His yahooish conduct was not welcome at the formal gathering.

Synonyms

• Lout: An uncouth or aggressive man.
• Boor: A rude, ill-mannered person.
• Philistine: A person who is hostile or indifferent to culture and the arts.
• Oaf: A stupid, uncultured, or clumsy person.

Antonyms

• Sophisticate: A person with much worldly experience and knowledge of culture.
• Gentleman / Lady: A person with refined manners.

Notes on Meaning

• The modern derogatory meaning of an uncultured person derives directly from Swift's fictional creatures, whose name he may have coined.
• The internet company Yahoo! chose its name precisely because the founders liked the dictionary definition of a "rude, unsophisticated, uncouth person," considering themselves as such when they started the project. This is an example of ironic or reappropriated usage.

Noun

1. a widely used search engine for the web that finds information, news, images, products, finance
2. one of a race of brutes resembling men but subject to the Houyhnhnms in a novel by Jonathan Swift
3. a person who is not very intelligent or interested in culture