hoodlum
English
[edit]Etymology
[edit]First attested in a December 1866[1] Daily Alta California article, which mentions "the 'Hoodlum Gang' of juvenile thieves".[2] Several possible origins have been proposed. It may derive from a Germanic word like Swabian hudelum (“disorderly”)[1][3] or Bavarian Haderlump (“ragamuffin”).[4]
Herbert Asbury's book The Barbary Coast: An Informal History of the San Francisco Underworld (1933, A. A. Knopf, New York) says the word originated in San Francisco from a particular street gang's call to unemployed Irishmen to "huddle 'em" (to beat up Chinese migrants), after which San Francisco newspapers took to calling street gangs "hoodlums".
Pronunciation
[edit]- IPA(key): /ˈhuːdləm/, /ˈhʊdləm/
Audio (Southern England): (file) - Hyphenation: hood‧lum
Noun
[edit]hoodlum (plural hoodlums)
- A gangster; a hired thug.
- Synonyms: see Thesaurus:criminal
- 1942 June 16, Jerry Siegel, “The Case of the Crimeless Crimes”, in Action Comics, volume 1, number 51, page 3:
- When the hoodlums reach their headquarters...
- 2018 September 19, Lisa Ling, “How the US helped create Trump’s ‘violent animals’”, in CNN[1], archived from the original on 18 September 2024:
- There is no question the MS-13 gang must be stopped. It is a vile organization of hoodlums with no regard for life.
- 2021 February 9, Christina Newland, “Is Tom Hanks part of a dying breed of genuine movie stars?”, in BBC[2], archived from the original on 6 September 2026:
- In Sam Mendes's excellent gangster movie Road to Perdition (2002), he tested the boundaries further playing a hitman – but while we know he's a killer, we never really see him go full-pelt hoodlum.
- 2023 August 20, Richard Galant, “Opinion: A powerful weapon for prosecutors is now in the hands of Fani Willis”, in CNN[3], archived from the original on 31 January 2026:
- Caesar Enrico “Rico” Bandello is a hoodlum who rises swiftly in Chicago’s mob world, in the 1931 film “Little Caesar.” Played by Edward G. Robinson, Rico is tracked down by police and shot.
- 2024 August 1, Nimi Princewill and Stephanie Busari, “Violence erupts as Nigerians protest hunger across the nation”, in CNN[4], archived from the original on 19 April 2026:
- The state’s police spokesman Wasiu Abiodun told CNN in a statement that operatives arrested 11 armed “hoodlums” who set fire to a government building after looting it.
- A rough or violent youth.
- Synonyms: see Thesaurus:troublemaker
Usage notes
[edit]- A short form, "hood," also exists.
- A nonstandard, jocular plural hoodla (treating the word like a Latin noun) also exists.
- The behavior of a hoodlum may be referred to as "hoodlumism."
Derived terms
[edit]Translations
[edit]a gangster; a hired thug
|
a rough or violent youth
|
References
[edit]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 “hoodlum”, in Merriam-Webster.com Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
- ^ Daily Alta California, December 15, 1866: "a dealerf in second-hand clothing [...] was arrested, yesterday [...] on the charges of receiving stolen goods from the "Hoodlum Gang" of juvenile thieves"
- ^ “hoodlum”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
- ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2026), “hoodlum”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
Further reading
[edit]- “Frederick Bee History Project”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name)[5], 4 October 2014 (last accessed), archived from the original on 26 August 2026