hoodlum English · revision 1330

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈhuːdləm/, /ˈhʊdləm/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is of uncertain or unknown origin.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) The most common suggestion is a German dialect word,^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) Bavarian ''Huddellump'' “ragamuffin”^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) or Swabian ''hudelum'' “disorderly”.^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) Newspapers of the time printed many fanciful explanations.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A young street rowdy or loafer (1871, American English).^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The word arose in San Francisco,^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) where a “Hoodlum Gang” of thieving boys was reported in 1868,^(Etymonline) and through the 1870s it was known as a California word.^(Etymonline) It spread to the rest of the United States by about 1877,^(Barnhart 1995) when it also came to mean a young criminal or gangster.^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1868 – the “Hoodlum Gang” in San Francisco.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1871 – a street rowdy.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1877 – a young criminal, gangster.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1908 – ''hoodlum wagon''.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[gangster]] or [[thug]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A tough, often violent young man; a young [[ruffian]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[hoodlumism]]

+ * [[hoodlumish]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[hood]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Wiktionary notes the short form ''hood'' and the jocular plural ''hoodla''.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}