Canuck

Canuck ( kə-NUK) is a slang term for a Canadian, though there are numerous contextual variations on the word's meaning. A variety of theories have been postulated for the etymological origins of the term. The term Kanuck is first recorded in 1835 as a Canadianism, originally referring to French Canadians. By the 1850s, the spelling with a "C" became predominant. Today, many Canadians and others use Canuck as a mostly affectionate term for any Canadian. Johnny Canuck is a folklore hero who was created as a political cartoon in 1869 and was later re-invented as a Second World War action hero in 1942. The Vancouver Canucks, a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL), has used a version of "Johnny Canuck" as their team logos. The Canadian military has used the term colloquially for several projects: Operation Canuck, the Avro Canada CF-100 Canuck and the Fleet 80 Canuck. Captain Canuck is a Canadian comic book superhero who first appeared in Captain Canuck #1 (July 1975). The series was the first successful Canadian comic book since the collapse of the nation's comic book industry following World War II.