mooch

Pronunciation

• IPA: /muːt͡ʃ/^[1]

Etymology

It comes from Middle English mowchen,^[2][3][4] probably from Old French muchier (“to hide, skulk”),^{[2][3][4][5][6]} of uncertain origin, perhaps Celtic or Germanic.^[3][4] Barnhart and Etymonline also mention Middle English michen “to pilfer” and mucchen “to hoard”.^[3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

To pilfer or steal (1440 as mychyn in Barnhart),^[3] or to act the miser or pretend poverty (mid-15th century).^[4][7]

Semantic evolution

In the 17th century the word meant to play truant, especially to pick blackberries (1622).^[7] From 1851 it meant to loaf, skulk or wander aimlessly,^[3][5][7] and from 1857 to sponge off others,^[3][4][7] probably from the sense of loafing.^[3] The sense to beg or cadge is from 1899.^[7] Moocher as a noun is recorded from 1914.^[4]

Timeline

• 1440 – mychyn, to pilfer.^[3]
• about 1460 – to pretend poverty.^[7]
• 1622 – to play truant.^[7]
• 1851 – to loaf or skulk.^[3][5][7]
• 1857 – to sponge off others.^[3][4][7]
• 1899 – to beg or cadge.^[7]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To get or try to get something free, at another's expense; to sponge or cadge.
2. To steal; to filch.
3. To wander about aimlessly; to skulk or sneak.

Noun

1. A person who mooches; a moocher.
2. An aimless stroll.

Word family

• moocher

Related words

• mitch
• sponge

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press