mugwump

Pronounced: MUG-wuhmp, noun

Notes: I have heard this word, but I only had vague ideas of the meaning

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Yesterday’s word

The word yahoo, as a noun, is “a person who is boorish, loud, disruptive, etc”. As an interjection, it means “expressing excitement, delight, or triumph”.

First usage

The noun form came into English in the mid-1700s; the interjection form came into English in the 1970s

Background / Comments

The noun definition came from Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift – published in 1726. In the book, the Yahoos were a race of brutish creatures. The origin of the interjection is not known, but it thought to be of echoic origin. I am also skeptical of the first usage being in the 1970s; I seem to recall that the Rankin/Bass Christmas show Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer had a character named Yukon Cornelius who was wont to shout “yahoo!”. This show came out in the mid-1960s, so perhaps the first usage above is incorrect. Note that I believe he shouted “yahoo!”, but I need to watch the show to verify that memory.