hooch

also n. Slang.

1. Alcoholic liquor, especially inferior or bootleg liquor: “bootleggers smashed on their own hooch” (Christopher Hitchens).
2. Marijuana.

[Short for hoochinoo, from Hoochinoo, a Tlingit village where illegal liquor was distilled, from Tlingit xutsnuuwú.]

hooch² also hootch (hūch)
n. Slang.

A dwelling, especially a thatched hut.

[Alteration (perhaps influenced by HUT) of Japanese uchi, inside, interior.]

Liquor that's either illegally produced (bootleg) or just plain cheap. The word hooch is generally associated with whiskey produced during Prohibition (1920-1933), however, the name originated in the late 1800s with a tribe of Alaskan Indians. It comes from Hoochinoo (Hootchinoo), a Tlingit Indian village on Admiralty Island, Alaska, the inhabitants of which made and sold alcoholic spirits illegally.

from Tlingit
This word originated in United States (Alaska)

An unquenchable thirst for alcoholic beverages in Alaska gave the word hooch to the English language. It began after the U.S. purchase of Alaska in 1867, when Congress prohibited the sale of alcoholic beverages in the territory. Unable to buy alcohol, the Tlingit Indians living in a village by the name of Xutsnuuwú (Hoochinoo in English) on Admiralty Island, Alaska, began making their own. It is mentioned in an 1869 report on seal and salmon fisheries: "The natives manufacture by distillation from molasses a vile, poisonous life and soul destroying decoction called 'hoochinoo.'"

During the Alaska Gold Rush of the 1890s, hoochinoo was shortened to hooch and made popular by the appetites and tales of the fortune seekers. An 1897 book, Pioneers of the Klondyke, says, "The manufacture of 'hooch,' which is undertaken by the saloon-keepers themselves, is weirdly horrible." Another writer describes the "hoochinoo" of the time as "made out of molasses or beans or rice or flour or anything that'll ferment. I call it squirrel whisky, because two drinks of it makes you want to climb a tree."

Ever since, hooch has been an uncomplimentary name for illegal or at least ill-tasting alcoholic beverages. It is used primarily in the northern and western parts of the United States, presumably by neighbors and descendants of those who returned from the Klondike. Since the 1970s, hooch has also been modernized to designate another illegal substance, marijuana.

Tlingit, a member of the Na-Dene language family, is still spoken. But there are only about a thousand Tlingit speakers left, mostly in the southern panhandle of Alaska, including Sitka and Juneau, the state capital. Hooch is the only word of Tlingit origin that has found its way into the general English vocabulary. One other Tlingit word has made it into the English vocabulary just of Alaska: nagoonberry, a delicious deep red berry related to the blackberry, noted in English as early as 1914.

---

Hard liquor, usually contraband, often home made.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
1.
n. - spiritus, sprut

2.
n. - hytte

Nederlands (Dutch)
(gesmokkelde) drank, (Vietnamese) hut

Français (French)
1.
n. - (US) boisson alcoolisée, marijuana

2.
n. - hutte (argot des soldats), cabane

Deutsch (German)
1.
n. - Schnaps, Fusel

2.
n. - Hüte in Südasien

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (ΗΠΑ, καθομ.) λαθραίο ουίσκι

Italiano (Italian)
liquore forte

Português (Portuguese)
n. - bebida (f) alcoólica forte (gír.), choupana (f) de teto de palha (gír.) (Mil.)

Русский (Russian)
самогон

Español (Spanish)
1.
n. - aguardiente

2.
n. - choza de Asia del sur, (mil) barracas, casa de prostitutas (esp. guerra de Corea)

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - kröken, starksprit (isht whisky)

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
1. 私酒, 烈酒

2. 私运入的酒

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
1.
n. - 私運入的酒

2.
n. - 私酒, 烈酒

한국어 (Korean)
1.
n. - 밀주, 주류

2.
n. - 이엉 지붕의 오두막, 집, 주거

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 酒, 密造酒, ベリーダンス

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) الخمرة, بخاصه حين تكون رديئه أو مقطرة أو موزعه بطريقه غير مشروعه‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮משקה חריף‬
n. - ‮סוכת מגורים, קסרקטין‬

If you are unable to view some languages clearly, click here.

To select your translation preferences click here.