cahoots
Meanings
- Chiefly preceded by in: collaboration or collusion, chiefly for a nefarious reason.
- plural of cahoot (“a company or partnership; a group of people working together, chiefly for a nefarious reason, hence, a collaboration or collusion; an accomplice, partner”)
- third-person singular simple present indicative of cahoot
Pronunciation
Word forms
Etymology
PIE word *ḱóm From earlier cahoot + -s (suffix forming regular plurals of nouns). Cahoot is probably borrowed: * from French cahute (“hut, shack”), from Dutch kajuit (“cabin on a ship”), from Middle Low German kajüte, probably from Middle Dutch kayhute; further etymology uncertain, possibly borrowed from Old French *cahute, chahute (whence Middle French quahute), a blend of cabane (“cabin, hut, shack”) + hute (“hut”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kewH- (“to conceal, hide; to cover; hide, skin”)); or * from French cohorte (“group of people supporting the same person or thing, cohort”), from Latin cohors (“cohort; crowd”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm (“beside, by; near; with”) + *ǵʰer- (“to enclose”) (and if so, a doublet of cohort).