The origins of ''dude''

Our Living Language Cowboys and the Wild West are indelibly set in the minds of many as typical of America -- an association borne out by several common Modern English words that originated in the speech of the 19th-century western United States. One is dude, now perhaps most familiar as a slang term with a wide range of uses (including use as an all-purpose interjection for expressing approval: "Dude!"). Originally it was applied to fancy-dressed city folk who went out west on vacation. In this usage it first appears in the 1870s. The origin of the word is not known, but a number of other cowboy terms were borrowed by early settlers from American Spanish. These include buckaroo, corral, lasso, mustang, ranch, rodeo, and stampede. Buckaroo, interestingly, is an example of a word borrowed twice: it is an Americanized form of Spanish vaquero, which also made it into English as vaquero, a cowboy.

Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

My dictionary, Oxford Concise, says

19th cen. Probably from German dialect 'dude' = fool

We had this one on ABUZZ.

From the German 'dudenkopf' used for a swell or a dandy. Shortened to 'dude', then used (ironically) by cowboys and the like.



Why waxheads use it is only proof positive that marijuana reduces the user's vocabulary to monosyllables.

The great John Kearns pondered the meaning of 'dude' with some American DJ in a simul-cast, and both have came to this conclusion...

Waxheads = dope smokers? That's a new one on me. What's the derivation of that?

Are does waxheads refer to snowboarders (who presumably like the occasional toke)...

Years ago, in the East, dude ranches were popular vacation spots. People
who had never been on a horse in their lives, would live the "cowboy" life.

This is a waxhead.

Apparently to do it properly, not only do you need at surfboard - you require:



and..





so I have been told........ :wink:

Ah, thanks...