mooch

mooch · verb, noun¹

1. Medieval Latin · derived fromalmucia“nightcap”
2. Middle Dutch · derived frommutse“cap, nightcap”
3. Middle English · derived frommucche“nightcap”
4. Middle English · inherited frommucchen“to hoard, be stingy”
5. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*(s)mūg-
6. Proto-Germanic · derived from*mukjaną
7. Frankish · derived from*mukkjan“to hide, conceal oneself”
8. Old French · derived frommuchier
9. Middle English · inherited frommoochen
10. English todaymooch

From Middle English moochen, mouchen (“to pretend poverty”), from Old French muchier, mucier, mucer (“to skulk, hide, conceal”), from Frankish *mukkjan (“to hide, conceal oneself”), from Proto-Germanic *mukjaną, *mūkōną (“to hide, ambush”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)mūg-, *(s)mewgʰ- (“swindler, thief”). Cognate with Old High German mūhhōn (“to store, cache, plunder”), Middle High German muchen, mucken (“to hide, stash”), Middle English müchen, michen (“to rob, steal, pilfer”). More at mitch. Alternate etymology derives mooch from Middle English mucchen (“to hoard, be stingy”, literally “to hide coins in one's nightcap”), from Middle English mucche (“nightcap”), from Middle Dutch mutse (“cap, nightcap”), from Medieval Latin almucia (“nightcap”), of unknown origin, possibly Arabic. More at mutch, amice.

mooch · noun²

Clipping of Scaramucci.

Words from the same roots