hooch

Hooch is slang for an alcoholic beverage, especially liquor obtained outside regulated channels. In everyday use it typically denotes cheap or homemade alcohol, such as moonshine or bootlegged spirits, but the term can also refer more generally to any alcoholic drink in informal speech.

The origins of the word are uncertain. A widely cited but unconfirmed theory connects hooch to the Hoochinoo (Hooshinoo) Native American people of Alaska, who were historically associated with distilling and trading alcohol, suggesting the name spread through American slang in the 19th century. Another common explanation places the term within 19th and early 20th century American military and prohibition-era slang, describing illicit liquor produced outside legal channels. No single authoritative origin has been definitively established.

Usage and cultural references: Hooch appears in Prohibition-era literature, films, and songs as a symbol of illicit liquor. In prisons and military slang, the term can refer to homemade spirits produced from fermentable materials. While still understood in many regions as informal slang for alcohol, it often carries connotations of illegality or low quality and may be considered coarse in formal contexts.