English word origin

Etymology of mook

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗

In this entry · 2 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 ↗

noun

A disagreeable or incompetent person. · An anonymous foe that appears in large numbers and is readily dispatched by the hero.

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

From the 1930s, origin unknown. Suggestions include a variant of British slang moke (“donkey”); a variant of US slang mooch (“a sponger, beggar, idler”); Irish muc (“pig”); Dutch mok, German Mocke, Mucke (both dialectal for “sow” and hence “slovenly or bothersome woman/person”); a corruption of Italian mammalucco (“fool”, literally “mamluk”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Derivation mentionmucga · pig
Derivation mentionmoknl
Derivation mentionMockede
Derivation mentionmammaluccoit · fool

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "nocap": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "unknown"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ga",
        "3": "muc",
        "t": "pig"
      },
      "expansion": "Irish muc (“pig”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "nl",
        "3": "mok"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch mok"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "de",
        "3": "Mocke"
      },
      "expansion": "German Mocke"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "it",
        "3": "mammalucco",
        "t": "fool",
        "lit": "mamluk"
      },
      "expansion": "Italian mammalucco (“fool”, literally “mamluk”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "moke",
      "moke#English"
    ],
    [
      "mooch",
      "mooch#English"
    ],
    [
      "muc",
      "muc#Irish"
    ],
    [
      "mok",
      "mok#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "Mocke",
      "Mocke#German"
    ],
    [
      "Mucke",
      "Mucke#German"
    ],
    [
      "mammalucco",
      "mammalucco#Italian"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A disagreeable or incompetent person.",
        "An anonymous foe that appears in large numbers and is readily dispatched by the hero."
      ],
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Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗

noun

A book published in the form factor of a magazine.

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

Blend of magazine + book, nowadays a reborrowing from Japanese ムック (mukku).

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Blend componentmagazineen
Blend componentbooken
Borrowed-form mentionムックja

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "magazine",
        "3": "book"
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      "expansion": "Blend of magazine + book"
    },
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ja",
        "3": "ムック",
        "tr": "mukku"
      },
      "expansion": "Japanese ムック (mukku)"
    }
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    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
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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 mook →

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-bW9vaw