Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
noun
- a custom, trait, belief, etc., peculiar to the United States of America or its citizens.
-
- a word, phrase, or other language feature that is especially characteristic of the English language as spoken or written in the U.S.
- such a word or phrase first recorded in American Engish.
- devotion to or preference for the U.S. and its institutions.
noun
- a custom, linguistic usage, or other feature peculiar to or characteristic of the United States, its people, or their culture
- loyalty to the United States, its people, customs, etc
1781, in reference to words or phrases distinct from British use, coined by John Witherspoon (1723-1794), president of Princeton College, from American + -ism. (American English “English language as spoken in the United States” is first recorded 1806, in Webster.) Americanism in the patriotic sense “attachment to the U.S.” is attested from 1797, first found in the writings of Thomas Jefferson.