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Today it means

shmooze

to chat casually, especially to network or make connections socially

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Where does the word "shmooze" come from? It comes from Yiddish shmuesn, and was adopted directly into English (1890s).

Read the full story

Where does the word "shmooze" come from? It comes from Yiddish shmuesn, and was adopted directly into English (1890s).

Shmooze’s story begins in Yiddish: shmuesn meant “to chat casually.” To chat, to converse casually, from Hebrew shemuoth (rumors, things heard). It reached English by 1890s as shmooze. Yiddish 'shmuesn', to chat, from Hebrew 'shmuot', rumours. Today, shmooze means to chat casually, especially to network or make connections socially.

  1. Stage 1 · Yiddish · 1800s shmuesn "to chat casually", to chat, to converse casually, from Hebrew shemuoth (rumors, things heard).
  2. Stage 2 · English · 1890s shmooze "to chat casually, especially to network socially", Yiddish 'shmuesn', to chat, from Hebrew 'shmuot', rumours.

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