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Today it means

chouse

to cheat or swindle

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Where does the word "chouse" come from? It comes from Ottoman Turkish çavuş, and was adopted directly into English (1610s).

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Where does the word "chouse" come from? It comes from Ottoman Turkish çavuş, and was adopted directly into English (1610s).

Chouse’s story begins in Ottoman Turkish: çavuş meant “messenger, envoy.” A palace messenger or envoy; in the modern Turkish army it means sergeant. It reached English by 1610s as chouse. First 'chiaus', a Turkish envoy; in 1609 an interpreter sent to London by Sir Robert Shirley swindled merchants of £4,000, and Jonson's 'The Alchemist' (1610) jokes about it. Today, chouse means to cheat or swindle.

  1. Stage 1 · Ottoman Turkish · 1500s çavuş "messenger, envoy", a palace messenger or envoy; in the modern Turkish army it means sergeant.
  2. Stage 2 · English · 1610s chouse "to cheat", first 'chiaus', a Turkish envoy; in 1609 an interpreter sent to London by Sir Robert Shirley swindled merchants of £4,000, and Jonson's 'The Alchemist' (1610) jokes about it.

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