Honcho Definition

hŏnchō
honchos
noun
A person in charge; leader; chief.
Webster's New World
Wiktionary
verb
To direct or manage.
American Heritage

Other Word Forms of Honcho

Noun

Singular:
honcho
Plural:
honchos

Origin of Honcho

  • From Japanese 班長 (はんちょう, hanchō, “squad leader”), from 19th c. Mandarin bānzhǎng 班長 "team leader". Probably entered English during World War II: many apocryphal stories describe American soldiers hearing Japanese prisoners-of-war refer to their lieutenants as "hanchō".

    From Wiktionary

  • Japanese hanchō squad leader han squad (from Middle Chinese paːn division, class) (also the source of Mandarin bān) chō chief (from Middle Chinese triaŋ´) (also the source of Mandarin zhǎng)

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

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