English word origin

Etymology of hoon

Uncertain; used initially as a general term of abuse. It first appeared in print in Capricornia (1938) by Australian writer Xavier Herbert (1901–1984); in a 1941 letter Herbert stated he had heard the term in his youth.

4 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗

In this entry · 4 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗

verb

To drive excessively quickly, loudly or irresponsibly.

noun

A worthless person; a hooligan or lout. · A pimp. · A person who drives excessively quickly, loudly or irresponsibly; a street drag racer often driving heavily customized cars. · An attempt or go at something.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Inspect preserved source fields

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Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗

verb

To make a hooting or howling sound.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Unknown; perhaps imitative.

Inspect preserved source fields

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Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗

noun

A unit of weight (about 0.378125 of a gram, or 0.0133 of an ounce) used to measure opium in British-controlled parts of Asia; a candareen.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Borrowed from Hokkien 分 (hun). Doublet of fen and fan.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Borrowed-form mention分nan-hbl
Doublet mentionfenen
Doublet mentionfanen

Inspect preserved source fields

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Source etymology 4

Original entry ↗

noun

A pagoda, a type of gold coin.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Borrowed from Hindi हून (hūn, “pagoda, a gold coin of Southern India”), from Sanskrit हून (hūna, “a kind of gold coin from a particular kingdom”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Borrowed-form mentionहूनhi
Derivation mentionहूनsa

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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for hoon →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger

Machine-source provenance

Source SHA-256: 5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run: 73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID: w-aG9vbg