hooch

¹

Or hootch

[hooch]

noun

Slang.

1. alcoholic liquor.

2. liquor illicitly distilled and distributed.

hooch

²

Also hooch·ie
Or hootch

[hooch]

noun

Military Slang.

1. a thatched hut of southeast Asia.

2. any living quarters, as a barracks.

3. (especially during the Korean War)

   1. a prostitute's dwelling.

   2. any place, as a house, room, or shack, where a serviceman sets up housekeeping with a local woman.

Hooch

³

[hooch, hohkh]

noun

1. Pieter de 1629?–88?, Dutch painter.

Hooch

¹

/ huːtʃ, hoːx /

noun

1. Pieter de (ˈpiːtər də). 1629–?1684, Dutch genre painter, noted esp for his light effects

hooch

²

/ huːtʃ /

noun

1. informal,  alcoholic drink, esp illicitly distilled spirits

Word History and Origins

Origin of hooch¹

First recorded in 1895–1900; shortening of hoochinoo

Origin of hooch²

First recorded in 1950–55; probably from Japanese uchi “house” (by back formation, construing -i as -y ² ); initial h perhaps by association with hut or from Ryukyuan dialectal form of uchi with prefixed h-

Word History and Origins

Origin of hooch¹

C20: shortened from Tlingit Hootchinoo, name of a tribe that distilled a type of liquor

Example Sentences

He took the doctor out to thank him, and over dinner at Alexander’s Steakhouse in Pasadena, Gardner learned that the ophthalmologist kept two whiskey lockers on site, full of high-end hooch.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The lepers carried the hooch to speakeasies known as “aunty bars”, often operated by families from Goa, an enclave colonized by the Portuguese and converted to Christianity.

Read more on Salon

Therefore, the high-priced hooch delivered compliments of the Japanese embassy and three bottles of tequila valued at $450 have remained untapped.

Read more on Seattle Times

In a fit of anger, he took the Guam flag out of his vest and ran it up a makeshift flagpole outside his hooch, 20 feet into the sky, violating military policy.

Read more on New York Times

Your opinion of it might depend on your opinion of spending a 3 a.m. in some dungeon of a bar sipping some sort of unregulated hooch.

Read more on Washington Post

Related Words

• alcohol 
• drink 
• liquor 
• spirits www.thesaurus.com