hooligan

See also: Hooligan

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈhuː.lɪ.ɡən/

• Audio (UK):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: hoo‧li‧gan

Etymology 1

Probably a variant of the Irish surname Houlihan, 1890s.

Noun

hooligan (plural hooligans)

2. (informal, attributive) A young person who causes trouble or violence, typically part of a group or gang.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:troublemaker

   • 2012, Tie Ning, The Bathing Women: A Novel:

     She also heard boys from other classes behind her talking: “So, Teacher Tang is a female hooligan.”

   • 2013, Ken Sears, The Boy From Treacle Bumstead, →ISBN:

     And I was in danger of turning into a right little hooligan if left to my wayward ways.

   • 2014, Cynthia Kadohata, Half a World Away, →ISBN:

     “You are hooligan, you try to make trouble.” Sam paused, then continued. “Ah ha ha ha, I am right, I see it in your eyes. A hooligan!”

3. Ellipsis of football hooligan.
   • 2013, Mark Perryman, Hooligan Wars: Causes and Effects of Football Violence, →ISBN:

     These excursions abroad confirm that displacement has actually been a feature of the development of hooligan conflicts for some time, but an important wider point is that domestic hooligan displacement also seems to be a much more central issue today, as policing and other control strategies (segregation, seating, stewarding and CCTV in and around the larger English football grounds) have become more comprehensive, and especially as sentences for hooliganism have become much more forbidding.

4. (slang, US) A member of the United States Coast Guard.
   • 1944, Lawrance Roger Thompson, The Navy Hunts the CGR 3070, page 7:

     Many professional Navy and Coast Guard men were inclined to scoff. What kind of Navy was this, and what did they think they were up to, anyway? This bunch of hooligans wouldn't be any good to anyone; wouldn't be worth the powder to blow 'em to hell. Hooligan's Navy.

   • 1957, Weldon Hill, Onionhead, page 251:

     It often seemed to Al that the entire Coast Guard was a little embarrassed about being Coast Guardsmen—except maybe the cocky bearded men off the convoy cutters, who needed to apologize to no man because of any lack of battle stars. But in general, Army and Navy guys looked down on Hooligans.

   • 1970, Naval Engineers Journal - Volume 82, page 45:

     I frequently notice that the hooligans (a respectful reference to the U.S. Coast Guard) are a hard act to follow.

   • 2013, Elizabeth Smith Doerning, Frank A. Smith, Jr., The Travels of a Happy Hooligan, →ISBN:

     Navy crew along the rail shouted smart-ass remarks and jeered at the hooligan doing his job.

Derived terms

• hool, hoolie
• hooligan tool
• hooligan firm

Related terms

• hooliganism

Descendants

• → Finnish: huligaani
• → French: hooligan
• → German: Hooligan
• → Greek: χούλιγκαν (choúligkan)
• → Hebrew: חוליגן
• → Polish: chuligan
• → Portuguese: hooligan, holígane
• → Romanian: huligan
• → Russian: хулига́н (xuligán) (see there for further descendants)
• → Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic script: ху̏лига̄н

  Latin script: hȕligān

• → Swedish: huligan
• → Ukrainian: хуліга́н (xulihán)

Translations

person that causes trouble or violence

• Albanian: huligan m, rrugaç (sq) m
• Arabic: دَمَوِيّ m (damawiyy), سَفَّاح m (saffāḥ)

  North Levantine Arabic: أزعر m (ʔazʕar)

• Armenian: խուլիգան (hy) (xuligan)
• Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܫܹܠܵܬܹܐ c (shelati)
• Azerbaijani: xuliqan
• Belarusian: хуліга́н m (xulihán), хуліга́нка f (xulihánka)
• Bulgarian: хулига́н (bg) m (huligán), хулига́нка f (huligánka)
• Burmese: လမ်းသရဲ (my) (lam:sa.rai:)
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 爛仔 / 烂仔 (laan⁶ zai²)

  Mandarin: 流氓 (zh) (liúmáng), 歹徒 (zh) (dǎitú), 阿飛 / 阿飞 (zh) (āfēi)

• Czech: chuligán (cs) m, chuligánka (cs) f
• Dutch: hooligan (nl) m or f, vechtersbaas (nl) m, onruststoker (nl) m
• Esperanto: huligano
• Estonian: huligaan
• Finnish: huligaani (fi), häirikkö (fi)
• French: hooligan (fr) m, casseur (fr) m, voyou (fr) m
• Galician: lofa (gl) f, tarabelo (gl) m, bullangueiro m, bourión m, raido m, lampantín (gl) m, bergante m, arroallo m
• Georgian: ხულიგანი (xuligani)
• German: Hooligan (de) m, Raufbold (de) m, Randalierer (de) m, Rowdy (de) m, Störenfried (de) m, Vandale (de) m, Unruhestifter (de) m, Querulant (de) m, Halbstarker (de) m
• Greek: χούλιγκαν (el) m or f (choúligkan), ταραξίας (el) m or f (taraxías), ταραχοποιός (el) m or f (tarachopoiós)
• Hebrew: חוּלִיגָן (he) m (ḥuligán)
• Hindi: गुंडा (hi) m (guṇḍā)
• Hungarian: huligán (hu)
• Irish: amhas m, amhasóir m
• Italian: teppista (it), vandalo (it), hooligan (it) m
• Japanese: 与太者 (ja) (よたもの, yotamono), フーリガン (ja) (fūrigan), ならず者 (ja) (ならずもの, narazumono), 不良 (ja) (ふりょう, furyō) (juvenile)
• Kazakh: бейбастақ (beibastaq), бұзақы (būzaqy), бұзық (būzyq), бұзылған (būzylğan), хулиган (xuligan)
• Khmer: កាចកោង (kaac kaong)
• Korean: 훌리건 (hulligeon), 불량배(不良輩) (bullyangbae), 깡패 (ko) (kkangpae), 불량자(不良者) (bullyangja), 악당(惡黨) (ko) (akdang), 불한당(不汗黨) (bulhandang)
• Kyrgyz: хулиган (ky) (huligan), зөөкүр (ky) (zöökür), бейбаш (ky) (beybaş)
• Lao: ສາຣະໂກກ (sā ra kōk), ນັກປຸ້ນ (nak pun)
• Latvian: huligāns m
• Lithuanian: chuliganas m, triukšmadarys m
• Macedonian: хулига́н m (huligán), хулига́нка f (huligánka)
• Malayalam: ഗുണ്ട (ml) (guṇṭa)
• Maori: rarikena
• Persian: قلدر (fa) (qoldor), لات (fa) (lât)
• Polish: chuligan (pl) m, chuliganka (pl) f, zabijaka (pl) m, warchoł (pl) m, zakapiór m
• Portuguese: hooligan (pt) m, vândalo (pt) m, arruaceiro (pt) m, baderneiro m
• Romanian: huligan (ro) m
• Russian: хулига́н (ru) m (xuligán), хулига́нка (ru) f (xuligánka), дебоши́р (ru) m (debošír), буя́н (ru) m (buján), зади́ра (ru) m or f (zadíra), забия́ка (ru) m or f (zabijáka)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: ху̏лига̄н m, ху̏лига̄нка f

  Roman: hȕligān (sh) m, hȕligānka (sh) f

• Slovak: chuligán m, chuligánka f
• Slovene: huligan m, huliganka f
• Spanish: gamberro (es) m, gamberra (es) f, vándalo (es) m, vándala f, hooligan m
• Swedish: huligan (sv) c
• Tajik: авбош (avboš), безорӣ (bezori)
• Thai: จิ๊กโก๋ (th) (jík-gǒo), นักเลง (th) (nák-leeng)
• Turkish: holigan (tr)
• Turkmen: huligan
• Ukrainian: хуліга́н m (xulihán), хуліга́нка f (xulihánka)
• Urdu: گنڈا m (gunḍā), غنڈہ m (ġunḍah)
• Uzbek: bezori (uz), xuligan (uz)
• Vietnamese: hô-li-gân
• Yiddish: כוליגאַן m (khuligan)

See also

• lout
• thug
• yob, yobbo

Verb

hooligan (third-person singular simple present hooligans, present participle hooliganing, simple past and past participle hooliganed)

1. (intransitive) To act as a hooligan (sense 1).
2. (transitive, by extension) To treat (a person) roughly.

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Chinook Jargon ulakan, from Clatsop Chinook, with spelling and pronunciation influenced by the preceding.

Noun

hooligan (plural hooligan or hooligans)

1. A type of fish, an anadromous smelt, Thaleichthys pacificus, found in the North Pacific.

   Synonyms: eulachon, candlefish

   • 1993, James H. Barker, quoting Larry John, “Smelt Running Season, Fish Hitting: Qusiirvik, Kaugun”, in Always Getting Ready: Upterrlainarluta: Yup’ik Eskimo Subsistence in Southwest Alaska, Seattle, Wash.: University of Washington Press, →ISBN, page 72, column 2:

     One year there was a strong wind. We couldn’t catch herring, but they were there. We caught lots of hooligans (smelt) and got through the year on those.

   • 1994, Martha F. Betts, The Subsistence Hooligan Fishery of the Chilkat and Chilkoot Rivers, page 59:

     Haines and Klukwan hooligan harvesters reported that they exchanged hooligan products primarily for other food items, especially those unavailable in the Chilkat and Chilkoot area or those which were inaccessible to the harvester for various reasons. Respondents reported that virtually any wild food might be obtained for hooligan oil.

   • 1995, U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration & State of Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, Whittier Access Project, Seward Highway to Port of Whittier, Alaska: Draft Environmental Impact Statement, page 4-8:

     Low-gradient, clear water streams on the western side of Portage Pass provide spawning and rearing habitat for red salmon, silver salmon, pink salmon, chum salmon, hooligan (smelt), and Dolly Varden (U.S. Bureau of Land Management 1977b).

   • 2004, Kenai Peninsula Tour Guidebook, →ISBN, page 4:

     Hooligan (smelt) are often spotted from the point as they come in with the tide.

Translations

Thaleichthys pacificus — see candlefish

Anagrams

• halooing

References

• “hooligan, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.
• “hooligan, v.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.

Further reading

• Michael Quinon (1998 June 27) “Hooligan”, in World Wide Words‎^[1]

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from English hooligan.

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: hoo‧li‧gan

Noun

hooligan m (plural hooligans, diminutive hooligannetje n)

1. (derogatory) hooligan

French

Pronunciation

• ^{(aspirated h)}IPA^(key): /u.li.ɡɑ̃/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

hooligan m (plural hooligans)

1. hooligan

Portuguese

Alternative forms

• holígane

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English hooligan.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈʁu.li.ɡɐ̃/ [ˈhu.li.ɡɐ̃]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈʁu.li.ɡɐ̃/ [ˈhu.li.ɡɐ̃]
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /ˈʁu.li.ɡɐ̃/ [ˈχu.li.ɡɐ̃]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈu.li.ɡɐn/ [ˈu.li.ɣɐn]

Noun

hooligan m or f by sense (plural hooligans)

1. a sports hooligan

Spanish

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English hooligan.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈxuliɡan/ [ˈxu.li.ɣ̞ãn]
• Rhymes: -uliɡan

Noun

hooligan m or f by sense (plural hoolíganes)

1. hooligan

Usage notes

According to Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) prescriptions, unadapted foreign words should be written in italics in a text printed in roman type, and vice versa, and in quotation marks in a manuscript text or when italics are not available. In practice, this RAE prescription is not always followed.

Further reading

• “hooligan”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10