Etymologically
Log in

hooch

This is an old revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 15 October 2026 at 00:44. It may differ significantly from the current version. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Current version Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /huːt͡ʃ/[1]

Etymology

It is short for hoochinoo,[2][3][4][5] a liquor distilled by the Hoochinoo (Hutsnuwu), a Tlingit people of Alaska,[2][4][3] whose name is said by the OED to mean “grizzly bear fort”.[3] An unrelated hooch “hut” is an alteration of Japanese uchi “house, inside”.[2][4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Alcoholic liquor, especially of low quality or illegally made (1897).[6][3][4]

Semantic evolution

Hoochinoo (1877) named the liquor made by the Alaskan people,[3] and it became a favourite with miners in the Klondike gold rush of 1898, when real whisky was scarce.[3] Shortened to hooch, it came to mean any cheap or illicit liquor,[6][5] a sense that flourished during Prohibition.[1][4] The American Heritage Dictionary also records it as slang for marijuana.[2] The second hooch, for a thatched hut or any simple dwelling, was picked up by American servicemen in Japan and Korea (1950s).[4][5]

Timeline

  • 1877 – hoochinoo, Alaskan liquor.[3]
  • 1897 – hooch, inferior or illicit liquor.[6][3][4]
  • 1950–55 – hooch, a hut (separate word).[5][4]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. (slang) Alcoholic liquor, especially cheap or illegally made whisky.
  2. (slang) Marijuana.
  3. (slang) A thatched hut or simple dwelling (a separate word).
  • hootch
  • moonshine
  • bootleg

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b c d e Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  6. ^ a b c Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press