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hooligan

 - 3 dictionary results

hoo⋅li⋅gan

[hoo-li-guhn]
–noun
1. a ruffian or hoodlum.
–adjective
2. of or like hooligans.

Origin:
1895–1900; perh. after the Irish surname Hooligan, but corroborating evidence is lacking


hoo⋅li⋅gan⋅ism, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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hoo·li·gan   (hōō'lĭ-gən)   
n.  A tough and aggressive or violent youth.

[Origin unknown.]
hoo'li·gan·ism n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

hooligan 
1890s, of unknown origin, first found in British newspaper police-court reports in the summer of 1898, almost certainly from the surname Houlihan, supposedly from a lively family of that name in London (who figured in music hall songs of the decade). Internationalized 20c. in communist rhetoric as Rus. khuligan, opprobrium for "scofflaws, political dissenters, etc."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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