Dixie

Dixie, popular term for the southern states of the United States, particularly those that formed the Confederacy. There are a number of explanations of the origin of the term. One is that “Dixie” derives from the pre-Civil War issue of 10-dollar notes by the Citizens Bank of New Orleans. The notes carried the French word dix (“ten”) on the reverse side for the benefit of the area's many French-speaking people, so Louisiana and later the whole South became known as the land of “Dixies.” Other stories connect the name with a slaveowner named Dixie or with the Mason-Dixon line. “Dixie” is also the name of a popular song written in 1859, often regarded as the national anthem of the Confederacy.

See also: Confederate States of America.