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Origin and history of toot

toot(v.)

c. 1500, in reference to horns, etc., "give a characteristic sound when blown," ultimately imitative. Compare Middle Low German and Low German tuten "blow a horn."

Transitive sense of "sound (a note, etc.) on a trumpet, horn, etc," is by 1610s; that of "blow" a wind instrument is by 1680s. Related: Tooted; tooting.

Tooting as a strong affirmative (as in you're damned tootin') is attested by 1932, American English (compare 19c. U.S. slang toot (n.) "a blow-out, a spree"). Reduplicated form rootin' tootin' "noisy, rambunctious" is recorded by 1924 and might suggest the sports-fan root (v.2).

toot(n.)

1640s, "act of making a tooting noise" (on a horn, etc.), from toot (v.) or independently imitative. By 1790 in U.S. slang as "a blow-out, a spree." The slang meaning "cocaine" is attested by 1977.

also from 1640s

Entries linking to toot

root(v.2)

"cheer, support," 1889, American English, originally in a baseball context, probably from root (v.1) via intermediate sense of "study, work hard" (1856). Related: Rooted; rooting.

tootle(v.)

"toot gently and repeatedly," 1820, frequentative of toot (v.). Related: Tootled; tootling.

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    lever
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    masc. proper name, Middle English Jon, Jan (mid-12c.), from Old French Jan, Jean, Jehan (Modern French Jean), from Medieval Latin Johannes, an alteration of Late Latin Joannes, from Greek Ioannes, from Hebrew Yohanan (longer form y'hohanan), said to mean literally "Jehovah has fa
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