THE FIRST WORD

hayseed

PRONUNCIATION:

(HAY-seed) 

MEANING:

noun: An unsophisticated person who comes from a rural area.

ETYMOLOGY:

Alluding to a person with straw in his clothes or smelling of hayseed and regarded as a country bumpkin. Earliest documented use: 1577.

USAGE:

"A hayseed with a Midwestern twang, Carnegie arrived in New York in his 20s with the usual mix of big dreams and shallow pockets."
How to Succeed; Dale Carnegie; The Economist (London, UK); Nov 2, 2013.