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mugwump

 - 3 dictionary results

mug⋅wump

  [muhg-wuhmp]
Use mugwump in a Sentence
–noun
1. a Republican who refused to support the party nominee, James G. Blaine, in the presidential campaign of 1884.
2. a person who is unable to make up his or her mind on an issue, esp. in politics; a person who is neutral on a controversial issue.
Origin:
1830–35, Americanism; artificial 19th-cent. revival of Massachusett (E sp.) mugquomp, syncopated form of muggumquomp war leader (equiv. to Proto-Algonquian *memekw- perh., swift + *-a⋅pe⋅w man)

Related forms:
mug⋅wump⋅er⋅y, mugwumpism, noun
mug⋅wump⋅i⋅an, adjective
mugwumpish, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To mugwump
mug·wump   (mŭg'wŭmp')   
n.  

  1. A person who acts independently or remains neutral, especially in politics.

  2. often Mugwump A Republican who bolted the party in 1884, refusing to support presidential candidate James G. Blaine.


[Massachusett mugguomp, mummugguomp, war leader.]
mug'wump'er·y 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

mugwump 
1832, jocular for "great man, boss," Amer.Eng., from Algonquian (Natick) mugquomp "important person," used since 1884 of Republicans who refused to support James G. Blaine's presidential candidacy, hence "one who holds himself aloof from party politics."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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