Hoosier

Indianapolis native, informally

A Hoosier is a native or resident of Indiana.

The term dates to the 1830s, though its origin remains genuinely uncertain—dozens of folk etymologies exist, none proven.

Hoosiers use it with state pride: Hoosier hospitality.

The Indiana University athletic teams are the Hoosiers.

Outside Indiana, particularly in St.

Louis, hoosier can mean an unsophisticated rural person—a usage Indianans find unflattering.

Indianan

Indiana

Midwestern state, nineteenth admitted

IndianapolisIndiana's capital city
BloomingtonIndiana city with major university
crossroadsMeeting of routes

Pacers · state pride · heritage · Americana · pioneer · settler · roots · ancestry · tradition · Corn Belt

basketball

fieldhouse

Indoor athletic facility

Bobby KnightVolatile hoops coach
Larry BirdBoston's #33 forward
PacersIndiana NBA franchise

sectionals · regionals · state tournament · barn · hoops · net · backboard · layup · jump shot · free throw

Midwestern

cornfields

Cultivated grain expanses

farmlandAgricultural terrain
agricultureCultivation of land, livestock
soybeansProtein-rich Asian legume

rural · barns · silos · tractors · harvest · plains · prairie · pastures · homestead · smalltown

Categories

MidwestIndiana, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota
residentsresident, residents, inhabitants, inhabitant, local
MidwesternersOhioan, Iowan, Kansan, Nebraskan, Minnesotan
National ForestsAllegheny, Angeles, Angelina, Arapaho, Bitterroot
Regional LabelsYankee, Midwesterner, Texan, Californian, New Englander
DemonymsAmerican, Australian, Canadian, British, Chinese

Opposites

regional/state identity

HoosierBuckeye

Ohio resident or athlete

Wolverine · Boilermaker · out-of-stater · outsider · Kentuckian

Phrases

Indiana HoosiersMidwestern university's sports programs
Hoosier StateNickname for Indiana

Family

Familiarity: Top 500,000
Profile: Mostly American · Timeless · Concrete · Everyday, not technical · Rated G