hooch

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /huːt͡ʃ/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -uːtʃ

Etymology 1

Abbreviation of hoochinoo, name of a specific liquor, from Tlingit Xutsnoowú Ḵwáan, the group that produced it, from Hutsnuwu (“grizzly bear fort”), the name of the village on Admiralty Island in which they lived. From Tlingit xóots (“grizzly bear”).

Alternative forms

• hootch

Noun

hooch (countable and uncountable, plural hooches)

1. (Canada, US, informal) An alcoholic beverage, especially an inferior or illicit one and especially liquor such as whisky.
   • c. 1910, O.M. Salisbury, chapter 3, in Quoth the raven: A little journey into the primitive, Seattle: Superior Publishing Company, published 1962, page 17:

     he was so grief-stricken that he literally drowned his sorrow in “hootch-i-noo,” the native equivalent of whiskey. […] Had he not been so sad he would not have drunk the “hootch,” and if he had not drunk the hootch he would not have died: a perfectly reasonable and logical argument.

   • 1997, Kevin Smith, Chasing Amy, spoken by Banky Edwards (Jason Lee):

     Bring on the free hooch!

Hyponyms

• moonshine

Translations

inferior liquor

• Czech: kořalka (cs) f, samohonka (cs) f, (domácí) pálenka (cs) f
• German: Fusel (de) m
• Polish: bimber (pl) m, gorzała (pl) f, samogon (pl) m
• Portuguese: zurrapa (pt)

See also

• jail juice
• rotgut

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Japanese 家(うち) (uchi, “house”).

Noun

hooch (plural hooches)

1. (Vietnam War-era military slang) A thatched hut, CHU, or any simple dwelling.
   • 2022 December 6, Avatar: The Way of Water, spoken by Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang):

     Burn the hooches.

Alternative forms

• hootch

Etymology 3

Noun

hooch (uncountable)

1. Alternative form of hoosh (“type of stew”)

Anagrams

• HCOOH

Alemannic German

Alternative forms

• hoch (Germanized spelling)
• hōch (Aargau, Basel, Schaffhausen, Solothurn)
• hööch (Aargau, Appenzell, Basel, Bern, Glarus, Lucerne, St. Gallen, Zürich)
• höüch (Schwyz)
• hoch, hòch (Walser)

Etymology

From Old High German hōh, from Proto-Germanic *hauhaz. Cognate with German hoch, Dutch hoog, English high, Icelandic hár, Swedish hög.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /hoːx/

Adjective

hooch (comparative hööcher, superlative hööchschte)

1. high

   Antonym: tüüf

   • 1966, Georg Thürer, Rund umme Blattetisch, page 59:

     Der goldig Sunneboge wird hööcher und hööcher.

     The golden sun's path climbs higher and higher.

German Low German

Etymology

From Middle Low German hôch, earlier hô (inflected stem hôg-). From Old Saxon hōh, from Proto-Germanic *hauhaz, from Proto-Indo-European *kewk-, a suffixed form of *kew-. Compare German hoch, Dutch hoog, Saterland Frisian hag, English high, Danish høj.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɦoːx/

Adjective

hooch (comparative höger, superlative an'n hööchsten)

1. high
2. tall

Declension

Positive forms of hooch

gender		singular			plural
		masculine	feminine	neuter	all genders
predicative		he is hooch	se is hooch	dat is hooch	se sünd hooch
partitive		een Hoochs	een Hoochs	wat Hoochs	allens Hooch
strong declension (without article)	nominative	hoge	hoge	hooch	hoge
	oblique	hogen	hoge	hooch	hoge
weak declension (with definite article)	nominative	de hoge	de hoge	dat hoge	de hogen
	oblique	den hogen	de hoge	dat hoge	de hogen
mixed declension (with indefinite article)	nominative	en hoge/hogen	en hoge	en hooch/hoget	(keen) hogen
	oblique	en hogen	en hoge	en hooch/hoget	(keen) hogen

Comparative forms of hooch

gender		singular			plural
		masculine	feminine	neuter	all genders
predicative		he is höger	se is höger	dat is höger	se sünd höger
partitive		een högers	een högers	wat högers	allens höger
strong declension (without article)	nominative	högere	högere	höger	högere
	oblique	högern	högere	höger	högere
weak declension (with definite article)	nominative	de högere	de högere	dat högere	de högern
	oblique	den högern	de högere	dat högere	de högern
mixed declension (with indefinite article)	nominative	en högere/högeren	en högere	en höger	(keen) högern
	oblique	en högern	en högere	en höger	(keen) högern

Superlative forms of hooch

gender		singular			plural
		masculine	feminine	neuter	all genders
predicative		he is de Hööchste	se is de Hööchste	dat is dat Hööchste	se sünd de Hööchsten
strong declension (without article)	nominative	hööchste	hööchste	hööchst	hööchste
	oblique	hööchsten	hööchste	hööchst	hööchste
weak declension (with definite article)	nominative	de hööchste	de hööchste	dat hööchste	de hööchsten
	oblique	den hööchsten	de hööchste	dat hööchste	de hööchsten
mixed declension (with indefinite article)	nominative	en hööchste/hööchsten	en hööchste	en hööchst	(keen) hööchsten
	oblique	en hööchsten	en hööchste	en hööchst	(keen) hööchsten

Note: This declension is one of many; neither its grammar nor spelling apply to all dialects.

Antonyms

• leeg

Pennsylvania German

Etymology

From Rhine Franconian houch, from Middle High German hoch, from Old High German hōh. Compare German hoch, Dutch hoog, English high.

Adjective

hooch

1. high
2. tall

Saterland Frisian

Adjective

hooch (masculine hogen, feminine, plural or definite hoge)

1. Alternative spelling of hoog