locofoco
English · Thesaurus
AI In plain words
Writing a short explanation…
Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
locofoco¹
Where it comes from
From Latin locus (“place; cause”) and focus (“hearth; fire”), although possibly prompted by misunderstanding the prefix of locomotive (itself from locus) as instead meaning something like self- or auto-. In reference to the NY political faction, derived from the use of locofoco matches to light candles and continue a meeting the rival Tammany Hall faction had attempted to end by killing the meeting place's gaslights.
Often folk etymologized to derive from Spanish loco (“crazy”).
noun locofocos · loco-foco · Locofoco · Loco-foco · Loco-Foco · loco
- Short for locofoco match, a strike-anywhere phosphorus match.
- A member of the Locofoco faction of the New York Democratic Party in the 1830s and 1840s.
- Synonym of Democrat, any member of the US Democratic Party.
- Anyone considered to subscribe to Locofocoism, the general political platform or philosophy of the Locofoco faction.
Locofoco²
noun Locofocos
- Alternative letter-case form of locofoco, especially (historical, US politics) a member of the Locofoco faction of the New York Democratic Party in the 1830s and 1840s.
Talk about this word "locofoco." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/locofoco. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. locofoco. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/locofoco "locofoco." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/locofoco.Cite this
@misc{locofoco_2026,
title = {locofoco},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/locofoco},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
