Pronounced: meem, noun
Notes: I think a lot of people know at least one meaning; the word has an interesting background
Yesterday’s word
The word louche means “not reputable or decent”
Background / Comments
I have heard the phrase (or thought I heard) “loose morals” or “loose living” for many years, but now I’m wondering if I’ve been mishearing the phrase: perhaps the speaker was saying “louche living”? I know I’ve seen it written “loose living”, but I suspect that this was some kind of error. It’s just something I wondered when I read the pronunciation of this word. Anyway, the word started with Latin luscus (blind in one eye; having poor sight). It then came into French as louche (squinting; cross-eyed). It also developed a figurative meaning on the idea of a squinting look of “shady” or “devious”. When the word came into English, only the figurative meaning was used.
First usage
This word showed up in English in the 1800s
Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day 