galoot

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   slang, mildly insulting or humorous: a fellow, especially one who is awkward, foolish, or uncouth

   A lone galoot stood on the passing raft and chopped wood.

Of obscure origin. Galoot appeared in early nineteenth-century nautical slang for a raw recruit or green hand and broadened to an awkward, foolish, or uncouth fellow. Proposed Arabic and European sources remain uncertain.

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