Etymology

hooligan

hoo·li·gan
H4O1O1L1I1G2A1N1

Today it means: A young person who causes trouble or violence, typically as a member of a gang or other group. Full definition →

English Houlihan ← Irish Ó hUallacháin ← Old Irish aue
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hooligan · noun, verb1

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₂ewh₂yos
  2. Proto-Celtic*awyos
  3. Old Irishaue
  4. Irishua
  5. Irishó
  6. IrishÓ
  7. Irishuallach
  8. IrishUallachán
  9. IrishÓ hUallacháin
  10. EnglishHoulihan
  11. English todayhooligan

Probably a variant of the Irish surname Houlihan, 1890s.

hooligan · noun2

  1. Chinook Jargon · borrowed fromulakan
  2. English todayhooligan

Borrowed from Chinook Jargon ulakan, from Clatsop Chinook, with spelling and pronunciation influenced by the preceding.

Words from the same roots

Chinook Jargonulakan all →

eulachon

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.