Uncle Sam

Uncle Sam
noun
a personification of the United States government (Freq. 3)
• Instance Hypernyms: ↑fictional character, ↑fictitious character, ↑character

* * *

ˌUncle ˈSam noun (informal)
a way of referring to the United States of America or the US government (sometimes shown as a tall man with a white beard and a tall hat)

•

He owed $20 000 in tax to Uncle Sam.

 
Word Origin:
[Uncle Sam] early 19th cent.: said (from the time of the first recorded instances) to have arisen as an expansion of the letters US.  
Culture:
Uncle Sam became an official symbol in 1961. Uncle Sam has a white beard and wears red, white and blue clothes, with stars on his tall hat. He was probably named after ‘Uncle’ Sam Wilson (1766–1854), who examined army supplies for the US government during the ↑War of 1812. During both world wars, a picture of Uncle Sam appeared on posters telling young men that they should join the armed forces.

Useful english dictionary. 2012.

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  • Uncle Sam — is a national personification of the United States (US), with the first usage of the term dating from the War of 1812 and the first illustration dating from 1852. He is often depicted as a serious elderly white man with white hair and a goatee,… …   Wikipedia

  • Uncle Sam — (s. ⇨ Pickfiester, ⇨ Piepmeier und ⇨ Rundkopf). *1. Uncle Sam. »Uncle Sam« ist der Volksausdruck für die Regierung der Vereinigten Staaten, wie für das Volk »Bruder ⇨ Jonathan« (s.d.) Nach Frost s Naval History of the United States ist sein… …   Deutsches Sprichwörter-Lexikon

  • Uncle Sam — Uncle Un cle, n. [OE. uncle, OF. oncle, uncle, F. oncle, fr. L. avunculus a maternal uncle, dim. of avus a grandfather; akin to Lith. avynas uncle, Goth. aw? grandmother, Icel. [=a]i great grandfather.] 1. The brother of one s father or mother;… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Uncle Sam — symbol of the United States of America, 1813, coined during the war with Britain as a contrast to John Bull, and no doubt suggested by the initials U.S. [L]ater statements connecting it with different government officials of the name of Samuel… …   Etymology dictionary

  • uncle sam — (USA) Uncle Sam is the government of the USA …   The small dictionary of idiomes

  • Uncle Sam — (Oenkl Säm), machte der amerikan. Volkswitz aus U. S. (d.h. united states, Vereinigte Staaten), der Aufschrift auf beweglichem nordamerikanischem Staatseigenthume; daher: Nordamerikaner, die Yankees …   Herders Conversations-Lexikon

  • Uncle Sam — (izg. ànkl sȅm) DEFINICIJA popularno ime za »tipičnog Amerikanca«, često upotrebljavano i kao simbolično ime za SAD; prikazan kao visok, mršav muškarac sa sijedom bradicom i šeširom sa zvjezdicama, odjeven u plavi sako i crveno bijele prugaste… …   Hrvatski jezični portal

  • uncle sam — англ. (анкл сэм) «дядя Сэм», ироническое название США, переосмысленная расшифровка букв U. S. (United States Соединенные Штаты); также шутливое прозвище американцев. Толковый словарь иностранных слов Л. П. Крысина. М: Русский язык, 1998 …   Словарь иностранных слов русского языка

  • Uncle Sam — (spr. Onkl Sämm), scherzhafte Benennung der Nordamerikaner u. ihrer Regierung, entstanden aus der officiellen Abkürzung U. S. Am. (s.d.) …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Uncle Sam — (engl.), scherzhafte Bezeichnung der Nordamerikaner, entstanden aus der amtlichen Abkürzung U. S. Am. für United States of America, scheint zuerst während des zweiten Krieges der Nordamerikaner mit England (1812–14) aufgekommen zu sein …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Uncle Sam — (engl., spr. önkl ßämm), scherzhafte Benennung der Nordamerikaner, entstanden aus der Abkürzung U.S.Am. = United States of America (Ver. Staaten von Amerika) …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

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