mugwump

[ muhg-wuhmp ]

noun
  1. a Republican who refused to support the party nominee, James G. Blaine, in the presidential campaign of 1884.

  2. a person who is unable to make up their mind on an issue, especially in politics; a person who is neutral on a controversial issue.

Origin of mugwump

1
First recorded in 1830–35, Americanism; artificial 19th-century revival of Massachusett (English spelling) mugquomp, syncopated form of muggumquomp “war leader” (equivalent to Proto-Algonquian (unattested) memekw- perhaps “swift” + (unattested) -a·pe·w “man”)

Other words from mugwump

  • mug·wump·er·y, mugwumpism, noun
  • mug·wump·i·an, adjective
  • mugwumpish, adjective

Words Nearby mugwump

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use mugwump in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for mugwump

mugwump

/ (ˈmʌɡˌwʌmp) /


noun
  1. US a neutral or independent person, esp in politics

Origin of mugwump

1
C19: from Algonquian: great chief, from mogki great + -omp man

Derived forms of mugwump

  • mugwumpery or mugwumpism, noun
  • mugwumpish, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012