What is -roo?
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cwalner
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In the case of Buckaroo, it is sort of coincidence. It is an English bastardization of the Spanish word Vaquero (Cowboy). in this case the roo comes from the Spanish ending '-ero' which is used to describe somthing relating to the root word. (Vaca - ero, one who works with a cow[vaca]; Sombra - ero, something that provides shade[sombra])
ETA: DavidS has other good examples of the -ero but caballero does not mean cowboy but it has historically referred to both knights and gentlemen - both relating to use or ownership of horses (caballo).
Since the other examples you listed do not share this origin, I would vote for coincidence overall.
ETA: DavidS has other good examples of the -ero but caballero does not mean cowboy but it has historically referred to both knights and gentlemen - both relating to use or ownership of horses (caballo).
Since the other examples you listed do not share this origin, I would vote for coincidence overall.
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I'm *guessing* (with absolutely zero sources or legitimate credentials) that it evolved from a bastardization of Spanish -ero, more-or-less "somebody related to X" e.g. caballero ("cowboy"; man who rides a horse, caballo), marinero ("sailor"; man who goes to sea mar), etc.
At least, that seems sensible for the Hollywood-western words:
buckaroo : rodeo cowboy, who rides a bucking bronco
switcheroo : the act of switching (a bastardized bastardization?)
I'd guess that kangaroo has completely independent origins.
At least, that seems sensible for the Hollywood-western words:
buckaroo : rodeo cowboy, who rides a bucking bronco
switcheroo : the act of switching (a bastardized bastardization?)
I'd guess that kangaroo has completely independent origins.
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Ok, thanks. 
I suppose it might have been confusing cause and effect in asking the question too: Any word ending in -roo is likely to sound odd and a bit funny to my ears, so I did not have very good grounds for assuming that all those words must have a common odd and funny origin.
Oh, well. There could have been some fascinating bit of trivia tying those words together.
I suppose it might have been confusing cause and effect in asking the question too: Any word ending in -roo is likely to sound odd and a bit funny to my ears, so I did not have very good grounds for assuming that all those words must have a common odd and funny origin.
Oh, well. There could have been some fascinating bit of trivia tying those words together.
JoeTheJuggler
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This is so close to one of my favorite etymologies: hoosegow (jail).
It comes from a phonetic borrowing of the Spanish (Mexican) word juzgado (a small court or tribunal).
It comes from a phonetic borrowing of the Spanish (Mexican) word juzgado (a small court or tribunal).
arthwollipot
Observer of Phenomena, Pronouns: he/him
There's an urban legend going around that the word "kangaroo" is the local indigenous word for "shut up you stupid whitefella".
Damien Evans
Up The Irons
seems a bit short to translate into something that long.
Which is exactly why the guy who agreed to the name Moomba is such an idiot.
MG1962
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Not really - the story - which is more than an urban legend was Kangaroo meant "Dont know" as in the Aboriginal had no clue what Cook was asking.
It seems now that what Cook was told was right, and the other name used on occassion means Edible animal"
sphenisc
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Is that troo?
jasonpatterson
Philanthropic Misanthrope
I have no evidence to support this, mind you, but the -eroo at the end of switcheroo, as well as its addition to make other similar silly words, seems to exist for that exact purpose, to take a normal word and make it silly and memorable. I can't really think of any -roo words that are in common usage beyond those you listed, though I've definitely heard people making up -roo words to be silly. I can easily imagine myself describing a flip into a swimming pool to my little daughter by saying, "Watch this, I'm going to do the old flipperoo," or something similar, just to get her to laugh.
It seems like a likely explanation. I too think that -eroo makes a word funnier, but since English is not my first language, I wasn't sure if native English-speakers would think so as well.
Dancing David
Penultimate Amazing
Thank you! I knew it was Spanglish but didn't know the derivation.
Dancing David
Penultimate Amazing
American english is very strange as well, we can take nouns and make them adjectives, or adjectives and make them nouns. (This happens to nouns and verbs as well.)
For example the word 'hot' (sexually attractive) becomes 'hottie'. Which is an adjective corruption used as a noun. (Or alternativly a diminutive of an adjective being used as a noun.)
More recently there is the 'Terminator' phenomena where a common name gets '-ator' added to it as a form of word play. So a child may be a 'baby-nator' or the former Govenor of Florida becomes 'the Jebinator'. (Jeb Bush)
So word endings tend to get passed around.
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JoeTheJuggler
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I can't remember what brand of lawnmower it was, but the names of their gadgets all had "-erizer" appended to them even when it was comically superfluous. "Mulcherizer" and "thatcherizer" for examples.
Speaking of the comical effect, I recall a John Barth novel (Giles, Goat Boy) where a character with what sounded like a Russian accent tended to pile on noun-making suffixes to words, especially when he was excited. "Rapenesshood!" he cried when someone was raped. (This is from my undependable memory.)
Dancing David
Penultimate Amazing
I am looking for sources on this, I found that 'hydo-matic' was first used with an Oldsmobile automatic transmission in 1939, and that led to the '-matic' thing. Then there is '-rama' like Bowlorama. Maybe from pano-rama?
JoeTheJuggler
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The mulcherizer and thatcherizer business is from Snapper lawn mowers. The ending comes from words like pulverize or bowdlerize. (And thus pulverizer and bowdlerizer.) It doesn't make sense with mulcher which already conveys the meaning of "a device that makes mulch". Imagine the guy at the grocery store being referred to as a baggerizer rather than a bagger!
I'm not sure where that use of "orama" comes from. I do have another example of it, though. There used to be a local TV clown show called Corky's Colorama.
It sounds like you're right about it coming from panorama.
That's similar to the way "athon" or "a-thon" came from marathon. Now we've got walk-a-thons and skate-a-thons and so on.
Ditto "holic" from alcoholic got used to make words like chocoholic and shopoholic.
It's not at all the normal process where you use suffixes with a specific meaning to form words. Instead, it's just a mock thing to make words sound like other words, and thus derive the meaning--somehow--from the original word. It's not at all, for example, the process used to make a word like appendectomy.
I'm not sure where that use of "orama" comes from. I do have another example of it, though. There used to be a local TV clown show called Corky's Colorama.
It sounds like you're right about it coming from panorama.
That's similar to the way "athon" or "a-thon" came from marathon. Now we've got walk-a-thons and skate-a-thons and so on.
Ditto "holic" from alcoholic got used to make words like chocoholic and shopoholic.
It's not at all the normal process where you use suffixes with a specific meaning to form words. Instead, it's just a mock thing to make words sound like other words, and thus derive the meaning--somehow--from the original word. It's not at all, for example, the process used to make a word like appendectomy.
However, it is very similar to the process in formation of the word for the female-to-male sex change operation, the addadichtomy. (say it out loud)
Mojo
Mostly harmless
