Cahoots

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /kəˈhuːts/

Definitions

1. engaged in a covert partnership that involves collaboration toward a shared goal, often with questionable motives or in secretive circumstances
2. involved in a hidden alliance or cooperation that implies working together for potentially underhanded aims, frequently shrouded in secrecy
3. Participating together secretly in a plan or arrangement, especially one that may be dishonest or suspicious

Etymology: "Cahoots" was originally a singular noun, "cahoot," and the plural ending came later. The most-cited origin points to a ship's cabin. Its ancestor is the Dutch "kajuit," meaning a cabin on a ship, which passed into French as "cahute," meaning a hut or shack, and into English as "cahoot," a small private space, which gave us the idea of people meeting somewhere out of sight. That sense of a hidden room is the root of the modern meaning of a secret shared scheme. The source does not settle the origin with certainty. A rival theory connects the word to the French "cohorte" ("cohort, group of people supporting the same cause"), descended from Latin "cohors," and if that is right, "cahoots" would be a doublet of "cohort," two English words from one source. The cabin-based account is the one usually preferred, but the "cohort" link is possible. Over time the plural "-s" was added to the singular "cahoot," as is common with nouns that come to be used in a collective sense, and the plural form is now the usual one.

Synonyms: collusion, conspiracy