Etymology: L, nomen, name, clamare, to call. a consistent, systematic method of naming used in a scientific discipline to denote classifications and avoid ambiguities in names, such as binomial nomenclature in biology and chemical nomenclature in chemistry.
To Easterners, a Yankee is a New Englander. To New Englanders, a Yankee is a Vermonter. And in Vermont, a Yankee is somebody who eats pie for breakfast.. This quote sums up pretty well how Yankees is really a contextual phrase.
WHAT IS A YANKEE? To non-Americans, a Yankee is an American, and can be a derogatory term. To western Americans it can be anyone from east of the Mississippi. To southern Americans, a Yankee is someone from north of the Potomac. North of the Potomac, it's someone from east of the Hudson, which gets to the original use of the word, meaning, generally, someone from New England. For New Englanders it becomes more complex.