shamus
[ shah-muh s, shey- ]
/ ˈʃɑ məs, ˈʃeɪ- /
noun, plural sha·mus·es. Slang.
a detective.
a police officer.
Nearby words
shamoy, shampoo, shamrock, shamrock-pea, shamshir, shamus, shan, shan state, shan't, shanachie, shand
Origin of shamus
1925–30; of obscure origin, though popularly derived from either Yiddish shames shammes or the Irish male given name Séamas
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for shamus
British Dictionary definitions for shamus
shamus
/ (ˈʃɑːməs, ˈʃeɪ-) /
noun plural -muses
US slang a police or private detective
Word Origin for shamus
probably from shammes, influenced by Irish Séamas James
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 shamus
shamus
"police officer, detective," 1920, apparently first in "The Shamus," a detective story published that year by Harry J. Loose (1880-1943), a Chicago police detective and crime writer; the book was marketed as "a true tale of thiefdom and an expose of the real system in crime." The word is said to be probably from Yiddish shames, literally "sexton of a synagogue" ("a potent personage only next in influence to the President" [Israel Zangwill]), from Hebrew shamash "servant;" influenced by Celtic Seamus "James," as a typical name for an Irish cop.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper