Definition of hillbilly

The origin of the word "hillbilly" can be traced back to the early 20th century, specifically the Appalachian region of the United States. The term originally referred to white, rural residents who lived in the mountainous area stretching from western Virginia to eastern Kentucky. The first recorded use of the word "hillbilly" appeared in print in 1900, in a publication called The Colliers Magazine. The author used the term to describe a musical genre that was popular in the area at the time, which combined elements of traditional English, Irish, and Scottish folk music with African-American blues and jazz. However, the usage of the word soon expanded beyond just musical style, as it became a pejorative term to describe the rural, poor, and often unwashed inhabitants of the region. The origin of the term "hillbilly" is believed to be a combination of two words: "hill" (referring to the mountainous landscape) and "billy" (a slang term for a vagrant or "white trash"). In the early 1920s, a group of record labels began marketing "hillbilly music" to a wider audience, which helped to popularize the genre and the term itself. Nevertheless, the word "hillbilly" has long been considered derogatory, and its usage is generally avoided by people from the region. Instead, they prefer to be known as Appalachians, southerners, or simply as people who live in the mountains.