Schmooze (shmuz) — to chat informally; to network
Etymology
The English verb "Schmooze" (also spelled Schmoose) traces back through Yiddish to the biblical Hebrew word שְׁמֻעָה (shmu'a), meaning "a report" or "something heard." In the Bible, the word appears in this sense in 1 Samuel 2:24. The plural form שְׁמוּעוֹת (shmu'ot, "reports, rumors, gossip") in the Ashkenazic pronunciation became the Yiddish noun שמועס (shmuɛs), meaning "chat" or "conversation." From this noun, Yiddish speakers formed the verb שמועסן (shmuɛsn), meaning "to chat, to converse."
With the mass emigration of Yiddish-speaking Jews from Eastern Europe to the United States at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, this verb traveled to America. The verb Schmoose is first attested in English in the journal The American Hebrew in December 1884, in a report on a Hanukkah party in New York. Like most Yiddish loanwords of the period, it initially circulated mainly within Jewish communities.
By the mid-20th century, Schmooze had crossed over into general American English, acquiring a slightly more calculating connotation: to talk with people in a friendly, informal way, usually in order to network, make connections, or advance oneself socially. Billie Holiday, for example, used the word in her 1956 autobiography Lady Sings the Blues to describe socializing with actress Lena Horne. The word is now fully part of mainstream American English.
The same column that traces Schmooze also covers the related English borrowing from Hebrew-via-Yiddish: Maven (expert), from the biblical מֵבִין (mevin, "one who understands"), first attested in English in The Maccabaean in 1907 and popularized through a Vita herring radio campaign between 1964 and 1969.
Key Quotes
"שמועסן" — Yiddish verb meaning "to chat," derived from Hebrew שְׁמוּעָה
Timeline
- Biblical period: שְׁמֻעָה used in Hebrew meaning "report, news heard"
- Ashkenazic Jewish community: Plural שְׁמוּעוֹת pronounced shmu'ot becomes Yiddish שמועס (conversation)
- Yiddish: Verb שמועסן formed meaning "to converse"
- December 1884: "Schmoose" first attested in English (The American Hebrew)
- Early 20th century: Word circulates mainly in Jewish-American circles
- Mid-20th century: Crosses into general American English
- 1956: Billie Holiday uses "Schmoozing" in Lady Sings the Blues
Related Words
- Maven — expert; from biblical מֵבִין via Yiddish, entered English 1907
- Cabal — secret group; from Hebrew קַבָּלָה via Yiddish/French
- Shibboleth — identifying mark; directly from Hebrew שִׁבֹּלֶת