The Origin of "Hillbilly"

The term hillbilly is often used as a derogatory term towards the people of the mountains who live in either the Appalachians or the Ozarks. The hillbilly is usually a person who lives in a remote, rural area in the mountains, owns a shotgun, goes barefoot, wears overalls, plays a banjo, makes moonshine and drinks it, has a large beard, poorly educated, and is content with what they have.

The origin of this term comes from the Scots-Irish in the 1700's. The people who were in North America and were against Prince William of Orange at this time were called "hillbillies". To describe the people of the mountains they combined the two words "hill-folk" and "billie", which means a companion or friend. 

Today in mainstream culture was see many hillbilly references. Like "The Beverly Hillbillies", "Moonshiners", and also Yosef, the Appalachian University mascot. Yosef is the ideal image for what hillbillies look like, even more so the older Yosef. The old Yosef had a thick black beard, floppy hat, corn pipe, and overalls.