Hi. I'm from a German background. All my life, I've hear the term "squarehead" to describe Germans and Northern Europeans. Does anyone know the origin of this word?

Raggedman,
As far as I know, and I may be wrong, but the term “Squarehead” derived from the squarish helmets that were worn by German soldiers in the 1920's to the 1930's. This term was given to the Germans by the French. I am not entirely sure I have the dates correct, but I believe this is the era in which these helmets were worn.

I have done a little searching and have found a site with pictures and information on German helmets so if you are interested here is the link, http://www.1944militaria.com/original_german_wwii_headgear.htm

I hope this helps even a little,

Rev. Alimae

Hello, raggedman and welcome to AWAD - you will be a welcome addition to the multi-culturalism that this board cherishes.

Rev. Alimae might well be correct, now that I have seen the pictures (thanks for that, Ali - a useful site!) - I had previously assumed that it referred to the flat, short-cropped hair style adopted by the German Army during the 1914-18 war. But this was an assumption, not based on any primary research

Eric Partridge in his Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English (1st ed.) says for square-head, or squarehead: "A Scandinavian, or especially in the Great War (i.e., World War I) and after, a German: colloquial: late 19th - 20th century. Ex (i.e., from) the shape of head. — 2. Earlier, a free immigrant: Australia: ca. 1870 - 1890. — 3. In cant (i.e., language of the underworld), an honest man: mid 19th - 20th century; obsolete." (I've expanded his abbreviations and added explanations in parentheses.) Hope this helps. I think the third definition is from square == true, as in "a square deal". I assume that AlimaeHP's "square" helmets are the ones that the German army wore from late WW1 until the end of WW2 (ca. 1917 - 1945). (They look very much like the helmets worn today by US troops, with the back half of the helmet lower on the head than the front, covering the ears.) Before that in WW1, the German army wore the Pickelhaube which is a small leather helmet with a metal "spike" (which for dress occasions was used to hold some decorative horse hair). And welcome to AWADtalk.

Vielen Danke!

Thanks for the warm reception and good information! I'll have to come back quite often.

Allo raggedman.

This may be an odd coincidence, but the French Québecers call English people squareheads too. They use the terms bloke (a bastardization of block) and tête carrée (square head).

They way I see it, it probably came from misunderstanding the British "bloke" for pal. To a French speaker, Bloke and Block sound the same. Block is square so voila - square head.

What is German for square?

das Quadrat.

As an adj, it would be quadratisch - quadratischeköpf is probably what "square-head" would come out as.

Or either Viereck.

Even so, Herr Faldage - Quadrat is more to do with number than shapes (as in square-root, etc) now I come to think on't:
adj - vierlecklig

So - square-head = vierleckligköpf

Square-head is Quadratschädel auf Deutsch. Literally, square-pate or square-skull.

http://dict.leo.org/?p=1ZRX..&search=Quadratschädel

Raggedman, are you watching Deadwood on HBO? "Squarehead" has been used on there a few times in reference to a murdered Swedish family.The story takes place in the 1870s, and I think the language reflects usage at that time. This suggests that the word doesn't derive from WW1 military wear.

Thanks, jheem - Schädel is a word I had not ecountered before. One more for my vocabulary.

But at least my first intuition was right for square.

But at least my first intuition was right for square.

When you start square, you finish square, RhubarbCommando.

I haven't been around for awhile, but it's a good way for anyone to start.

The definition (not my own) I offered in this very thread said that the term is known from the late 19th century and could refer to Scandinavians, too.

You're welcome. Schädel is cognate with our word skull. Yes, Quadrat means square: two words that come to mind are Quadratmeter 'square meter' )used in measuring houses) and Quadratpapier 'graph paper'.

Welcome upstatekaren. That's a good observation (and quite timely). How did they use the term squarehead in the documentary, or was it in a movie?

(Is HBO just movies? We don't get that here.)

I had to laugh when I saw the thread title... the term "squarehead" is quite common in the area where I live. It's usually heard as "Dutchy squarehead" and is used to refer to all of the stubborn Pennsylvania Dutchmen (and women, myself included!) who live here in Pennsylvania Dutch country.

But why though, Rapunzel?

But why though, Rapunzel?

I've always assumed that it referred to our stubborn "block-headedness." But that's just an assumption.

I guess it has as much to do with thoughtless racial stereotyping as anything.
Many north-europeans have cranial dimensions that are (more-or-less) equal in yaw, roll and pitch directions (x-threading madly!!)so can be seen as "square" - albeit with rounded corners (and, pedantically-speaking, it would really be a "cube")

but that's how racial stereotyping goes - a rough approximation to a small percentage of the actual reality.

June 9, 1958, was the first time Charlie Brown was called a blockhead in the Peanuts cartoon.

I had forgotten about that F.S.

I loved Peanuts. *Sigh*

How do you KNOW that?!

Hey, I was alive in the summer of '58.

All right, Mr. I was alive in the summer of '58, what day was it?

It was a Monday.

Monday

Uh-huh.

OK, what was the comic directly below it, or, if it was on the bottom of the page, the one directly above it?

There is an archive for such things, old dear.