hoodlum

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Etymology

First attested in a December 1866 Daily Alta California article, which mentions "the 'Hoodlum Gang' of juvenile thieves". Several possible origins have been proposed. It may derive from a Germanic word like swg hudelum or Bavarian Haderlump.

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

• IPA: /ˈhuːdləm/, /ˈhʊdləm/

Noun

hoodlum (plural hoodlums)

1. A gangster; a hired thug.

   Synonyms: Thesaurus:criminal

2. A rough or violent youth.

   Synonyms: Thesaurus:troublemaker

Translations

• French: bandit
• German: Schläger, Ganove, Gangster, Bandit
• Portuguese: jagunço
• Russian: банди́т
• Spanish: matón, bandido, pandillero

Translations

• French: voyou
• German: Ganove, Halbstarker, Rowdy, Schlägertyp
• Portuguese: marginal
• Russian: хулига́н
• Spanish: matón

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