Dixie

:For alternate meanings and references see Dixie (disambiguation).

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Dixie is a nickname for the Southern United States. Its origin is uncertain.

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According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the origins of the nickname remain obscure. According to A Dictionary of Americanisms on Historical Principles (1951), by Mitford M. Mathews, three theories most commonly attempt to explain the term:

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• The word preserves the name of a kind slaveowner on Manhattan Island, a Mr. Dixy. (Slavery was legal in New York until 1827.) His rule was so kindly that "Dixy's Land" became famed far and wide as an Elysium abounding in material comforts.
• Ten-dollar notes issued by the Citizens Bank of Louisiana before the Civil War bore the French dix, ten, on the reverse side and were consequently known as "dixes" or "dixies". Hence, Louisiana and eventually the South in general came to be known as the land of "dixies" or "dixies land".
• "Dixie" derives somehow from Jeremiah Dixon of the Mason-Dixon line defining the boundary between Maryland and Pennsylvania (the northern boundary of Dixie).

The Mason-Dixon theory is the most popularly known, but few lexicographers give it much weight.

Dixie: Origin of Dixie ►



 

Oxford English Dictionary: The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is a comprehensive dictionary published by the Oxford University Press (OUP). Generally regarded as the definitive dictionary of the English language, it includes about 290,500 main entries comprising 350 million printed characters. In addition to the headwords o...

1951: 1951 was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar....




Dixie related Images and Photos (experimental)

Dixie 1943	Dixie 1943	Dixie Piggie Drive-In	Dixie Chicks in Concert
Dixie Darlings 2012 Wall Calendar	Because Of Winn-Dixie	Can This Be Dixie? Far Left: Slim Summerville 1936	"""To Love and Die in Dixie"""
A Pack of Ferrets Clockwise from Top Chewbacca Hobart Dixie B Wolfgang Amadeaus Motzart