Etymology

caucus

C3A1U1C3U1S1

Today it means: A usually preliminary meeting of party members to nominate candidates for public office or delegates to be sent to a nominating convention, or to confer regarding policy. Full definition →

Algonquian ← Medieval Latin caucus
Ask AI about its historyChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

The story

  1. Medieval Latin · borrowed fromcaucus“drinking vessel”
  2. Algonquian · borrowed from
  3. English todaycaucus

Unknown. Often claimed to be from an Algonquian language; transcribed words such as cawaassough and caucauasu meaning "counselor, elder, adviser" appear in early texts. A popular folk etymology attested in Great Leaders and National Issues of 1896 stated: "In the early part of the eighteenth century a number of caulkers connected with the shipping business in the North End of Boston held a meeting for consultation. That meeting was the germ of the political caucuses which have formed so prominent a feature of our government ever since its organization." American Heritage Dictionary states the term is taken from the Caucus Club of Boston in the 1760s, possibly from Medieval Latin caucus (“drinking vessel”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.