Dude

“Who uses the word dude? How do people see the word?” Dude, an untranslatable word, has many different meanings but to most that use it, the word usually tends to have one meaning. Many see the word as being a male in gender, but many also tend to use the word for both genders. Dude came about in eighteen seventy-three when it was first used in speech. One of the earliest books to use the term was the Home and Farm Manual. Jonathan Periam, who wrote the book, used the term several times to denote an ignorant man from the city. Originally, dude referred to the hair at the base of a horse's tail. In the late eighteen hundreds, horse ranches became known as "dude ranches". And therefore, the men who worked on a dude ranch became known as "dudes". Dude quickly spread to California. There many of the surfers picked up the term and used it quite often. From New York to California, the term dude spread quickly throughout the United States.
The term “dude” may also be used as a job description: for example, the man that runs a bush hook as a job, his title would be called “the bush hook dude.” Later it was used in the old west to mean a city person who moved to the west without actually knowing what he was doing. It is synonymous with “city-slicker.” Dude can be used to interrupt another person’s conversation, attract one's attention, or to awake a stoner from a staring spell. It is synonymous with "excuse me" or "pardon me." Another very interesting definition of dude, reportedly, is the camel’s penis or the hair on the end of an elephants’ butt. I cannot find outside evidence to corroborate this, but I have actually had a person tell me that, and it is an element of popular “wisdom” that dude carries such a meaning.
“Dude” is mostly used by people as a noun referring to a person. “Dude, how did you do that?” Dude is taking the place of the name of the person the speaker is talking to. “Dude, you played a great game yesterday.” It can also be used as a verb: “to get dude up,” or to dress in one’s best clothing. “He is getting dude up for the wedding tonight.” This would be an example of getting dude up, or looking the best that he possibly can. But why do people use this word? Many choose to use the word mainly because it is friendly, informal, and not at all boring. It can be used as any kind of response to any question that one might have. “Do you want to go to the park and play some baseball?”...... “Dude!” In this case the responder is saying yes I would love to and sounds excited about going to the park. Dude can also have a softening or connecting effect when the word is used. Someone at a concert is standing on your toe. “Dude,” lets them know that you are on the same level as them, or that you are “cool with” them.
In the community of friends that I spent my entire life with, “dude” was very popular and was used in many various occasions. It can be used in a sentence to replace umm or like when a person is thinking about completing a sentence. “And then...dude...dude...dude, man I forgot.” This is an example of completing a sentence with the word dude. On the other hand we have “Duuuude, how did you complete the whole game with a broken arm?” or “Oh my god! That teacher was so stoned; Cameron and I were both like "Duuuude." These are examples where the term dude is used with emphasis. Saying the word dude is also a whole lot easier than remembering everyone’s names. Many people respond to the word and everyone answered to it coming up through middle and high school. I myself grew up using and hearing the word dude at a very young age. It seems like it just comes naturally to use the term these days. The word has spread throughout the United States very rapidly since it came about, so most people know what you are saying when you use the term. I was vacationing in Philadelphia this summer when I could not find a bathroom in the Philadelphia Phillies baseball stadium. I walked around until I found an employee of the park and said, “Dude, could you please tell me where the bathroom is.” I got a quick response from the worker and hurried to the restroom. The circle of friends that I mainly hung out with just substituted dude for everybody’s name. It made it a lot easier in talking to one another. “Dude, do you want to go to the baseball game with us?” The person the speaker is talking to would respond with, “Yeah, sure dude I would love to go.” The tone of the word in the way that I and my friends used it was very laid back and “chill” (relaxing, friendly, and easy-going). When I was riding my bike one day I fell and broke both of my arms. All I could say to my friend was “dude!” meaning, I think I messed myself up pretty bad and you need to go get some help. That was not a “chill” way of using the word; it was kind of a cry for help on my part. My friend, on the other hand, looked at me and all he could say was “dude”. But, the tone in which he was saying the word was plaintive, more like “Dude? dude….dude” almost as if he were asking what do I do? The word can also connect people or show that they are on the same level. I was at a concert one time when a stranger was standing on my toe. I said “dude” and while smiling at her, she apologized and then bought me a drink not too long after that.
Dude can also be taken negatively by some people depending on the quality and tone that are demanded. Older adults see the word and other words we use in our language as being inarticulate. Some people may have never heard of the word before and take it as being offensive. “Look at that dude man over there; he is not doing his job right.” Well I heard this when I was at work one day in the warehouse and the gentleman over heard the others conversation as I did. He turned around and said, “This dude man is doing more work than you, just sitting there running your mouth.” The situation never got too terribly serious but the worker said he would like to be called by his name instead of just some dude. “Dude, what the crap?” this can be taken negatively also just because of the demand or emphasis of the question. A man walks in the house with a gun. The occupants of the house are like “Dude!?” meaning, are you going to kill us with that gun? Many people that use the word often do not see the word at all being negative. There are very few times that I have experienced someone taking the term dude in an offensive or a wrong way.
The term dude is used all over the world and is seen as a universal pronoun. Dude has evolved in the English language from eighteen seventy-three to the present day as a pronoun and sometimes used as a verb. It is used to inform, ask questions, and has many other jobs. The word can be taken negatively or positively depending on the way the speaker is using the word. In my community we just used the word most of the time to refer to the person that we are talking to. On other occasions we used the word to answer questions as a one word answer. We also used the word when some person says something really stupid that there is nothing else to say but dude. I see the word dude becoming a common word in everybody’s vocabulary in the upcoming years. I also see that only the younger to mid-generation group use the word. Our generation in our time is bringing the word back. The question still comes about “Why do people use the word?” It is not in the dictionary and is said to be improper English by many people. If so many people around the country use the word and it has evolved into the English language, why can we not use the word in proper English? Even though it is not proper English many people accept the word and the person that is speaking the word. For me, it just comes natural. Everybody from my community sounds like they are from California, very laid-back. It seems like a Bob Marley style.