''Dude'' is

American slang American slang is slang that is common in, or particular to, the United States. The term can refer specifically to: Language * California slang, slang used in California English, or which originates in California *Hawaiian Pidgin, English-based ...

for an individual, typically

male Male (Planet symbols, symbol: ♂) is the sex of an organism that produces the gamete (sex cell) known as sperm, which fuses with the larger female gamete, or Egg cell, ovum, in the process of fertilisation. A male organism cannot sexual repro ...

. From the 1870s to the 1960s, dude primarily meant a male person who dressed in an extremely fashionable manner (a

dandy A dandy is a man who places particular importance upon physical appearance and personal grooming, refined language and leisurely hobbies. A dandy could be a self-made man both in person and ''persona'', who emulated the aristocratic style of l ...

) 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 etymology of the term "dude" is obscure. "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 "

"—an "extremely well-dressed male", a man who assigned particular importance to his appearance. The

café society Café society was the description of the "Beautiful People" and " Bright Young Things" who gathered in fashionable cafés and restaurants in New York, Paris and London beginning in the late 19th century. Maury Henry Biddle Paul is credited wi ...

and

Bright Young Things __NOTOC__ The Bright Young Things, or Bright Young People, was a group of Bohemian young aristocrats and socialites in London during the Roaring Twenties. The name was given to them by the tabloid press. They threw flamboyant fancy dress part ...

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 Evander Berry Wall (January 14, 1861 – May 4, 1940) was a New York City socialite and later an American expatriate in France during the Belle Époque and beyond. He was famous for his extravagantly refined look and was crowned "King of the Dud ...

, who was dubbed "King of the Dudes" in 1880s New York and maintained a reputation for

sartorial {{Short pages monitor