locofoco
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English
15
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
4
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A member of the Locofoco faction of the New York Democratic Party in the 1830s and 1840s.
American usage
noun
Synonym of Democrat, any member of the US Democratic Party.
American usage; Archaic; Derogatory
noun
Anyone considered to subscribe to Locofocoism, the general political platform or philosophy of the Locofoco faction.
American usage
noun
Alternative letter-case form of locofoco, especially (historical, US politics) a member of the Locofoco faction of the New York Democratic Party in the 1830s and 1840s.
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *stel-der. Proto-Italic *stlokos? Old Latin stlocus Latin locus Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂-der.? Proto-Indo-European *dʰegʷʰ-der.? Latin focus English locofoco From Latin locus (“place; cause”) and focus (“hearth; fire”), although possibly prompted by misunderstanding the prefix of locomotive (itself from locus) as instead meaning something like self- or auto-. In reference to the NY political faction, derived from the use of locofoco matches to light candles and continue a meeting the rival Tammany Hall faction had attempted to end by killing the meeting place's gaslights. Often folk etymologized to derive from Spanish loco (“crazy”).
Origin
- Source language: Latin
Word Breakdown
Usage
- Archaic
- American usage
- Derogatory
Inflected Forms
Derived Forms
Phrases
locofoco match
Synonyms
Democrat
any member of the US Democratic Party