high-muck-a-muck
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of high-muck-a-muck
First recorded in 1855–60; from Chinook Jargon hayo makamak, hiyu muckamuck, literally, “plenty to eat, much food,” perhaps extended derisively to Indigenous people of high status with much disposable wealth, as for potlatches; hayo, from Nuu-chah-nulth (Nootka) ḥayo “ten” (the base of various measures with suffixes for specific countable nouns); mak(a)mak “eat, food,” from Nuu-chah-nulth (Nootka) ma·ḥo·ma(q-) “part of whale meat between blubber and flesh”
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Alaskan settlers corrupted a powerful drink of the Hutsnuwu Indians into hooch, changed hiu muckamuck, the Chinook words meaning "plenty to eat," into a high-muck-a-muck, a "person of importance."
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