Kinderhook

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A small village in Columbia County, New York, settled by Dutch colonists ; a nickname for Martin Van Buren, the eighth U.S. president, taken from his hometown
2. A village in eastern New York with Dutch roots ; a nickname given to Martin Van Buren, based on the community where he was born and raised
3. A small Dutch-settled community in Columbia County, New York ; a pet name for the eighth American president, Martin Van Buren, linked to his birthplace

Etymology: Kinderhook is the name of a village in Columbia County, New York, and the name itself is a record of a meeting on the river. According to the source, Henry Hudson gave it in 1609, when his ship sailed up the Hudson River and a crowd of local children gathered to watch it. The name combines Dutch "kinder," meaning "children," with "hoek," meaning "hook" or "corner," so it translates roughly as "children's corner" or "children's point." The place was named for the children Hudson saw, so the name is a description of a scene rather than of the land. Its Dutch parts are ordinary words, and the surprise is that the name records a moment of encounter in the earliest days of European contact with the valley.