shamus
[shah-muh s, shey-]
- a detective.
- a police officer.
Origin of shamus
1925–30; of obscure origin, though popularly derived from either Yiddish shames shammes or the Irish male given name Séamas
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for shamus
Contemporary Examples
When I was 10 or 11 years old, a movie company came to town to do this Burt Reynolds movie, Shamus.
How ‘Transcendence’ Director Wally Pfister Became Christopher Nolan’s Secret WeaponAndrew Romano
April 17, 2014
Shamus Award–winning author Peter Spiegelman returns with this psychologically thrilling novel.
This Week’s Hot ReadsJuly 27, 2010
Historical Examples
And he asked Shamus, but he pretended he was ill—Oh, he was very unwell!
Angling SketchesAndrew Lang
The recitation of "Shamus O'Brien" seemed tame by comparison.
A Pirate of PartsRichard Neville
"You do not badly for a beginner," said he when Shamus had finished.
The Cat in Grandfather's HouseCarl Henry Grabo
Then Shamus began to walk slowly away, and the Queen followed.
The Cat in Grandfather's HouseCarl Henry Grabo
Shamus told her the story of his wanderings and produced the goblet.
The Cat in Grandfather's HouseCarl Henry Grabo
shamus
- US slang a police or private detective
Word Origin
probably from shammes, influenced by Irish Séamas James
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for shamus
n.
"police officer, detective," 1920, apparently first in "The Shamus," a detective story published that year by Harry J. Loose (1880-1943), a Chicago police detective and crime writer; the book was marketed as "a true tale of thiefdom and an expose of the real system in crime." The word is said to be probably from Yiddish shames, literally "sexton of a synagogue" ("a potent personage only next in influence to the President" [Israel Zangwill]), from Hebrew shamash "servant;" influenced by Celtic Seamus "James," as a typical name for an Irish cop.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper