Dude could be the perfect word.

So simple. So many uses.

But where does it come from?

Thanks to Slate for the Etymology of Dude. More accurately, thanks to some rad researcher dudes.

A massive, decade-long “dude” research project has finally yielded convincing results.

What’s the answer?

Yankee Doodle Dandy!

I’ll let you take a gander at Slate for the details.

But dang that seems obvious.