goombah
Meanings
Plural: goombahs
Noun
- A person of Italian descent (often implies the person is connected to Italian organized crime)
- A companion, pal, close friend, or associate, especially among Italian-American men. It sometimes has the connotation of an older friend who acts as a patron, protector or adviser.
- Alternative form of gumbe, a Jamaican drum.
Origin / Etymology
From Neapolitan cumpà and Sicilian cumpari (“buddy, pal”, akin to Italian compare, Spanish compadre, from Latin compater, literally “godfather”), a word often used to refer to “family friends” or friends close enough to be considered an “aunt” or “uncle”, though not related by blood.
To an English-speaking ear, the unaspirated stops of Southern Italian dialects (especially Neapolitan) are interpreted as voiced stops, yielding goombah. Compare South American Spanish cumpa. Doublet of compadre, compeer, and compere.
Scrabble Score: 15
goombah is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL wordgoombah is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
goombah is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary
Words With Friends Score: 17
goombah is a valid Words With Friends word