muckamuck

The story

1. Chinook Jargon · borrowed frommuckamuck“food”
2. English todaymuckamuck

Borrowed from Chinook Jargon muckamuck (“food”). In the sense of person of authority, it is short for high muckamuck, from Chinook Jargon hayo muckamuck (“plenty to eat, plenty of food; to eat”). See muckety muck. The ultimate source of the word is unclear; it is possible that the term originated within Chinook Jargon itself, rather than being borrowed from another language.