Goomah

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A term commonly found in specific Italian-American circles to describe a woman involved romantically with a married man, indicating a relationship marked by secrecy and infidelity
2. A slang term referring to a woman who has a secret romantic relationship with a man who is already married
3. Used to describe a woman involved in an extramarital affair with a married man, typically in a covert manner

Etymology: "Goomah," meaning a married man's mistress, comes from Neapolitan "cummà," a word for "godmother." The shift from a sacred kinship title to a term for an illicit lover is the surprising part. In Southern Italian communities, a godmother (a "comare" or "cummà") was a respected figure tied to a family through baptism, and the affectionate use of the title for a close woman friend gave it a loose, intimate tone. The word was carried to America by Southern Italian immigrants, who brought their dialect with them. In the English-speaking world it was taken up in this specific sense, a woman kept on the side by a married man, and it has stayed largely confined to that meaning, with a flavour of older, colourful slang.

Synonyms: mistress, paramour