Wookiee

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A tall, furry fictional alien species from the Star Wars films, known for its roaring voice and warrior role ; a noisy, growling sound that is hard to understand ; a playful way of describing someone who is very hairy or shaggy
2. The tall, shaggy Star Wars alien race famed for its loud roars ; a rough, guttural sound that cannot be made out ; a jocular label for a person with a thick, unkempt coat of hair
3. A hairy fictional creature from the Star Wars saga that growls and roars ; an indistinct, growling vocal noise ; a humorous term for a furry, hirsute individual

Etymology: The Wookiee is the furry, roaring co-pilot of Han Solo in George Lucas's Star Wars films, and the name was reportedly coined by Lucas himself, who gave it to a Wookiee-like character early in drafting the script. The most common account says that the name was a playful reference to a dog or a stray of a similar sound, but this origin is not documented with any confidence. What is clearer is that the word was formed by Lucas and his team as a fictional coinage, with no linguistic root behind it in any real language. The word entered English in 1977, with the release of the first film, and it has since become a common noun used for any large, hairy, growling figure. Because it is a technical invention of a film studio rather than a word that evolved over centuries, its history is short and easy to trace: it begins with a single creative act and spread through popular culture.