Dude is American slang for an individual, typically male. From the 1870s to the 1960s, dude primarily meant a male person who dressed in an extremely fashionable manner (a dandy) or a conspicuous citified person who was visiting a rural location, a "city slicker". In the 1960s, dude evolved to mean any male person, a meaning that slipped into mainstream American slang in the 1970s. Current slang retains at least some use of all three of these common meanings. History The term "dude" may have derived from the 18th-century word "doodle", as in "Yankee Doodle Dandy". In the popular press of the 1880s and 1890s, "dude" was a new word for "dandy"—an "extremely well-dressed male", a man who assigned particular importance to his appearance. The café society and Bright Young Things of the late 1800s and early 1900s were populated with dudes. Young men of leisure vied to display their wardrobes. The best known of this type is probably Evander Berry Wall, who was dubbed "King of the Dudes" in 1880s New York and maintained a reputation for sartorial splendor all his life. This meaning of the word, though rarely consciously known today, remains occasionally in some American slang, as in the phrase "all duded up" for getting dressed in fancy clothes.

From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Notable quotes

“La prima volta che vado a letto con un uomo succede quasi sempre che non si fa niente. Si preoccupano, si agitano, credono di dover fare i fenomeni. Pensano "Oddio, lo sto facendo con l'Arcuri", e non si conclude. Ormai lo so, sono rassegnata. Per questo concedo sempre una seconda chance.”
— The first time I go to bed with a man, most of the time nothing happens. They worry, they get agitated, they think they have to excel. They think, "Oh my God, I'm doing it with Arcuri", and then it's a total flop. Now that I know, I've resigned myself to the fact. This is why I always grant them a second chance.
“But man is not made for defeat. A man can be destroyed but not defeated.”
— Ernest Hemingway (1899–1961) The Old Man and the Sea (1952), p. 113
“I have thought some of Nature's journeymen had made men and not made them well, they imitated humanity so abominably.”
— William Shakespeare, Hamlet (1600-02), Act III, scene 2, line 37
“The only competition worthy a wise man is with himself.”
— Anna Brownell Jameson, Memoirs and Essays, Washington Allston
“Der edle Mensch ist nur ein Bild von Gott.”
— The noble man is only God's image.
“Every man will be a poet if he can; otherwise a philosopher or man of science. This proves the superiority of the poet.”
— Henry David Thoreau, journal entry, April 11, 1852. The Heart of Thoreau's Journals, ed. Odell Shepard, p. 126 (1927)

Quotes via Wikiquote (CC BY-SA), each with its original source.

Notable quotes

“La prima volta che vado a letto con un uomo succede quasi sempre che non si fa niente. Si preoccupano, si agitano, credono di dover fare i fenomeni. Pensano "Oddio, lo sto facendo con l'Arcuri", e non si conclude. Ormai lo so, sono rassegnata. Per questo concedo sempre una seconda chance.”
— The first time I go to bed with a man, most of the time nothing happens. They worry, they get agitated, they think they have to excel. They think, "Oh my God, I'm doing it with Arcuri", and then it's a total flop. Now that I know, I've resigned myself to the fact. This is why I always grant them a second chance.
“But man is not made for defeat. A man can be destroyed but not defeated.”
— Ernest Hemingway (1899–1961) The Old Man and the Sea (1952), p. 113
“I have thought some of Nature's journeymen had made men and not made them well, they imitated humanity so abominably.”
— William Shakespeare, Hamlet (1600-02), Act III, scene 2, line 37
“The only competition worthy a wise man is with himself.”
— Anna Brownell Jameson, Memoirs and Essays, Washington Allston
“Der edle Mensch ist nur ein Bild von Gott.”
— The noble man is only God's image.
“Every man will be a poet if he can; otherwise a philosopher or man of science. This proves the superiority of the poet.”
— Henry David Thoreau, journal entry, April 11, 1852. The Heart of Thoreau's Journals, ed. Odell Shepard, p. 126 (1927)

Quotes via Wikiquote (CC BY-SA), each with its original source.

Not who you're looking for? Others named dude: 2015 single by Lethal Bizzle & Stormzy · 1972 musical · 2025 soundtrack album by Sai Abhyankkar · single by Shawnna and Beenie Man

Overview

Dude is American slang for an individual, typically male. From the 1870s to the 1960s, dude primarily meant a male person who dressed in an extremely fashionable manner (a dandy) or a conspicuous citified person who was visiting a rural location, a "city slicker". In the 1960s, dude evolved to mean any male person, a meaning that slipped into mainstream American slang in the 1970s. Current slang retains at least some use of all three of these common meanings. History The term "dude" may have derived from the 18th-century word "doodle", as in "Yankee Doodle Dandy". In the popular press of the 1880s and 1890s, "dude" was a new word for "dandy"—an "extremely well-dressed male", a man who assigned particular importance to his appearance. The café society and Bright Young Things of the late 1800s and early 1900s were populated with dudes. Young men of leisure vied to display their wardrobes. The best known of this type is probably Evander Berry Wall, who was dubbed "King of the Dudes" in 1880s New York and maintained a reputation for sartorial splendor all his life. This meaning of the word, though rarely consciously known today, remains occasionally in some American slang, as in the phrase "all duded up" for getting dressed in fancy clothes.

From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Dude is American slang for an individual, typically male. From the 1870s to the 1960s, dude primarily meant a male person who dressed in an extremely fashionable manner (a dandy) or a conspicuous citified person who was visiting a rural location, a "city slicker". In the 1960s, dude evolved to mean any male person, a meaning that slipped into mainstream American slang in the 1970s. Current slang retains at least some use of all three of these common meanings.

dude across IJR

On Watch

Dude Perfect EXPOSED!Dude Perfect

Studio characters

Alice Harvie DudenAsk the American dentist everything the interviews skip.Anne DudekAsk anything — within reason.

Ask Genius by OpenServe about dude Create in Studio Build a game Watch videos