Knickerbocker

[ nik-er-bok-er ]

noun

1. a descendant of the Dutch settlers of New York.
2. any New Yorker.

Knickerbocker

/ ˈnɪkəˌbɒkə /

noun

1. a descendant of the original Dutch settlers of New York
2. an inhabitant of New York

Word History and Origins

Origin of Knickerbocker¹

1800–10, Americanism; generalized from Diedrich Knickerbocker, fictitious author of Washington Irving's History of New York

Word History and Origins

Origin of Knickerbocker¹

C19: named after Diedrich Knickerbocker, fictitious Dutchman alleged to be the author of Washington Irving's History of New York (1809)

Example Sentences

Gregory Knickerbocker, Nicoangelo Knickerbocker's father, described in an interview how the fire barreled toward the town through dry grass fields where sugar cane was once cultivated.

From Reuters

"It was so hot all around me, I felt like my shirt was about to catch on fire," Nicoangelo Knickerbocker, a 21-year-old resident of Lahaina, said from one of the four emergency shelters opened on the island.

From Reuters

Knickerbocker heard cars and a gas station explode, and soon after fled the town with his father, bringing with them only the clothes they were wearing and the family dog.

From Reuters

The Schuyler statue — in bronze, by J. Massey Rhind, a Scottish-born sculptor — was a gift of George C. Hawley, a local beer baron, and treated as front-page news in the Knickerbocker Press, which recounted a parade and thousands of onlookers at its unveiling, including military units and Boy Scouts, in June 1925.

From New York Times

In Victorian America, a literary journal known as The Knickerbocker was as popular as movies or TV shows are today.

From Salon