hooch

¹

or hootch

[ hooch ]

noun

, Slang.

1. alcoholic liquor.
2. liquor illicitly distilled and distributed.

hooch

²

or hootch

[ hooch ]

noun

, Military Slang.

1. a thatched hut of southeast Asia.
2. any living quarters, as a barracks.
3. (especially during the Korean War)
   1. a prostitute's dwelling.
   2. any place, as a house, room, or shack, where a serviceman sets up housekeeping with a local woman.

Hooch

³

[ hooch; Dutch hohkh ]

noun

1. Pie·ter de [pee, -ter d, uh, pee, -t, uh, r, d, uh], 1629?–88?, Dutch painter.

Hooch

¹

/ huːtʃ; hoːx /

noun

1. HoochPieter de1629?1684MDutchARTS AND CRAFTS: painter Pieter de (ˈpiːtər də). 1629–?1684, Dutch genre painter, noted esp for his light effects

hooch

²

/ huːtʃ /

noun

1. informal.
   alcoholic drink, esp illicitly distilled spirits

Word History and Origins

Origin of hooch¹

First recorded in 1895–1900; shortening of hoochinoo

Origin of hooch²

First recorded in 1950–55; probably from Japanese uchi “house” (by back formation, construing -i as -y ² ); initial h perhaps by association with hut or from Ryukyuan dialectal form of uchi with prefixed h-

Word History and Origins

Origin of hooch¹

C20: shortened from Tlingit Hootchinoo, name of a tribe that distilled a type of liquor

Example Sentences

I learned how to sleep standing up, and how to spike chewing tobacco with jailhouse hooch fermented from cans of fruit cocktail.

From Freakonomics

Watching her drown her sorrows in hooch and then get beat up by Crazy Eyes in the showers was ghastly…but great television.

From The Daily Beast

By hooch-time we had found a secure path to the sea-ice, one hundred and eighty feet below.

From Project Gutenberg

All hell was fixing to bust loose in there, and he, Peter de Hooch, was right next to it.

From Project Gutenberg

"Because a half is eight point two eight per cent heavier than a hole," said de Hooch.

From Project Gutenberg

Something in the man's voice made de Hooch turn his head away from the periscope's eyepieces.

From Project Gutenberg

One of the men shook de Hooch gently, awakening him in the middle of a snore.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• alcohol
• drink
• liquor
• spirits