hoodlum
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hoodlum
- /ˈhuːdləm/
- /ˈhʊdləm/
Where it comes from
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 Swabian hudelum (“disorderly”) or Bavarian Haderlump (“ragamuffin”).
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".
noun hoodlums
-
A gangster; a hired thug.
When the hoodlums reach their headquarters...
Similar: criminal, crook, committer, culprit, delinquent, desperado, double-dealer, felon, hoodlum, lawbreaker, lowlife, malefactor
-
A rough or violent youth.
Similar: agitator, bad boy, bad news, bear, beggar, bhoy, blackguard, booger, boot boy, bovver boy, brat, brawler
Translations
Every language
noun a gangster; a hired thug
| Español | matón, bandido, pandillero |
|---|---|
| Português | jagunço |
| Français | bandit |
| Deutsch | Schläger, Ganove, Gangster, Bandit |
| Русский | банди́т bandít, банди́тка bandítka |
noun a rough or violent youth
| Español | matón, de gueto, quinqui, merchero, quinquillero |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | チンピラ chinpira, 与太者 yotamono |
| 中文 | 阿飛 /阿飞 āfēi, 流氓 liúmáng, 歹徒 dǎitú |
| हिन्दी | गुंडा guṇḍā |
| Português | marginal |
| Français | voyou |
| Deutsch | Ganove, Halbstarker, Rowdy, Schlägertyp |
| Русский | хулига́н xuligán, го́пник gópnik, буя́н buján, шпана špana |
Talk about this word "hoodlum." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/hoodlum. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. hoodlum. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/hoodlum "hoodlum." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/hoodlum.Cite this
@misc{hoodlum_2026,
title = {hoodlum},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/hoodlum},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
