different between mooch vs smooch

English

Alternative forms

• mouch

Etymology

From Middle English moochen, mouchen (“to pretend poverty”), from Old French muchier, mucier, mucer (“to skulk, hide, conceal”), from Frankish *mukjan (“to hide, conceal oneself”), from Proto-Germanic *mukjan?, *m?k?n? (“to hide, ambush”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)m?g-, *(s)mewg?- (“swindler, thief”).

Cognate with Old High German m?hh?n (“to store, cache, plunder”), Middle High German muchen, mucken (“to hide, stash”), Middle English müchen, michen (“to rob, steal, pilfer”). More at mitch.

Alternate etymology derives mooch from Middle English mucchen (“to hoard, be stingy”, literally “to hide coins in one's nightcap”), from Middle English mucche (“nightcap”), from Middle Dutch mutse (“cap, nightcap”), from Medieval Latin almucia (“nightcap”), of unknown origin, possibly Arabic. More at mutch, amice.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mu?t?/

• Rhymes: -u?t?

Verb

mooch (third-person singular simple present mooches, present participle mooching, simple past and past participle mooched) (colloquial)

1. (Britain) To wander around aimlessly, often causing irritation to others.
2. To beg, cadge, or sponge; to exploit or take advantage of others for personal gain.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:scrounge
3. (transitive, chiefly Britain) To steal or filch.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:steal

Derived terms

• mooch off

Translations

Noun

mooch (plural mooches)

1. (Britain) An aimless stroll.

2. One who mooches; a moocher.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:scrounger

3. (US, slang) A unit of time comprising ten days, used to measure how long someone holds a job.

Translations

Anagrams

• chomo, choom

English

Etymology 1

Perhaps from a dialectal variation of smack. Compare also Low German smok (“a kiss, a smouch”).

Alternative forms

• smouch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /smu?t?/
• Rhymes: -u?t?

Noun

smooch (plural smooches)

1. (informal) A kiss.

Derived terms

• smoochies
• smoochiness
• smoochy

Translations

Verb

smooch (third-person singular simple present smooches, present participle smooching, simple past and past participle smooched)

1. (informal, transitive, intransitive) To kiss.

   They smooched in the doorway.

Derived terms

• besmooch
• smoocher

Translations

Etymology 2

Verb

smooch (third-person singular simple present smooches, present participle smooching, simple past and past participle smooched)

1. Alternative form of smutch
   • 1892, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, "The Yellow Wallpaper"

     Then she said that the paper stained everything it touched, that she had found yellow smooches on all my clothes and John's, and she wished we would be more careful!

Anagrams

• chomos, schmoo