Is Yahoo a bad word

Answer 1

the original word Yahoo (as a noun) came from the book Gulliver's Travels. At one point in the book, Gulliver meets a race of highly intelligent, sensitive, cultured horses who are plagued by a rather moronic group of human-like creatures (called Yahoos) who do nothing except rush around trying to jump on the horses while screaming "Ya-Hoo!". The word came to be used as a mild insult, meaning someone who is uncultured, crude, aggressive and excitable (think of a yahoo as an uppity hillbilly). it's not a word people use much anymore, however.