hootenanny

[hoot-n-an-ee, hoot-nan-]

noun, plural hoot·en·an·nies.

a social gathering or informal concert featuring folk singing and, sometimes, dancing.

an informal session at which folk singers and instrumentalists perform for their own enjoyment.

Older Use. a thingumbob.

Origin of hootenanny

First recorded in 1910–15; origin uncertain

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for hootenanny

Contemporary Examples of hootenanny

The first four letters in hootenanny spell hoot -- and The Seeger Sessions was fun -- with a purpose.
Springsteen, Seeger, and the Joy of Political Music
Howard Wolfson
February 2, 2014
The hootenanny on political websites about the contest being up for grabs is shilling for advertising dollars.
Newt Gingrich, Comic Diva: His New Reign of Terror
John Batchelor
January 23, 2012

British Dictionary definitions for hootenanny

hootenanny

hootnanny (ˈhuːtˌnænɪ)

noun plural -nies

an informal performance by folk singers

mainly US something the name of which is unspecified or forgotten

Word Origin for hootenanny

C20: of unknown origin

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 hootenanny

"informal session of folk musicians," 1940, American English, earlier "a gadget" (1927), of unknown origin, perhaps a nonsense word.

Another device used by the professional car thief, and one recently developed to perfection, according to a large Chicago lock-testing laboratory, is a "hootenanny," so-called by the criminals using it. ["Popular Mechanics," February 1931]