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shamuses

 - 4 dictionary results

sha⋅mus

  [shah-muhs, shey-]
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–noun, plural -mus⋅es. Slang.
1. a detective.
2. a police officer.
Origin:
1925–30; of obscure orig., though popularly derived from either Yiddish shames shammes or the Ir male given name Séamas
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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sha·mus   (shä'məs, shā'-)   
n.   Slang

  1. A police officer.

  2. A private investigator.


[Perhaps from the Irish name Seamus, James.]
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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Slang Dictionary
sham(m)us [ˈʃeməs]

  1. n.
    a police officer or a detective. (Probably from Yiddish.) : One thing that a shamus always knows is when another shamus is following him.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

shamus 
"police officer, detective," 1925, probably from Yiddish, lit. "sexton of a synagogue," from Heb. shamash "servant;" influenced by Celt. Seamus "James," as a typical name for an Irish cop.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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