Hootch
/huːtʃ/noun
Informal slang for alcoholic liquor, especially cheap or illicit liquor.
Did you know?The word is a borrowing from the Tlingit word *xuts*/*hootch* for a kind of fermented drink, which entered American slang through contact in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest.
Etymological Timeline
Pre-Contact / Indigenous North America
Tlingit
xuts / hootch
“A fermented drink or liquor”
Late 19th Century
American English
hootch
“A native alcoholic drink or liquor, especially in Alaska”
Early 20th Century
English
hootch
“Cheap or illicit alcoholic liquor; bootleg booze”
Modern English
English
hootch
“Informal slang for liquor, especially rough or homemade alcohol”