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hoosegow

or hoos·gow

[hoos-gou]
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noun Slang.
  1. a jail.
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Origin of hoosegow

1860–65, Americanism; < Mexican Spanish jusgado jail (Spanish: court of justice, orig. past participle of juzgar to judge) < Latin jūdicātum, equivalent to jūdic- (stem of jūdex) judge + -ātum -ate1
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for hoosegow

penitentiary, cooler, pokey, prison, clink, slammer, hoosegow, calaboose

Examples from the Web for hoosegow

Historical Examples of hoosegow

  • "The boss is in the hoosegow," answered Pete, his voice tragic.

    Good References

    E. J. Rath

  • It's a long walk down to the hoosegow and I don't want to take you there.

    Young People's Pride

    Stephen Vincent Benet

  • The next thing I heard, two men we've been keeping an eye on were in the hoosegow, one with a slug in his shoulder.

    The Wailing Octopus

    Harold Leland Goodwin

  • It would infuriate the Judge to sentence those buzzards to the hoosegow for life.

    David Lannarck, Midget

    George S. Harney

British Dictionary definitions for hoosegow

hoosegow

hoosgow

noun
  1. US a slang word for jail
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Word Origin for hoosegow

C20: from Mexican Spanish jusgado prison, from Spanish: court of justice, from juzgar to judge, from Latin judicāre, from judex a judge; compare jug
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

Word Origin and History for hoosegow

n.

"jail," 1911, western U.S., probably from mispronunciation of Mexican Spanish juzgao "tribunal, court," from juzgar "to judge," used as a noun, from Latin judicare "to judge," which is related to judicem (see judge (v.)).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper