Definition
A private detective or investigator, especially in noir detective fiction and slang.
Etymology
From Yiddish 'shames' or 'shammes' (a synagogue caretaker or sexton), borrowed from Hebrew 'shamash.' Somehow the Yiddish term became slang for private detective, possibly from association with a person who knew everyone's secrets.
Kelly Says
The word 'shamus' perfectly captures the immigrant influence on American English—a Hebrew-Yiddish word for a synagogue official somehow transformed into hardboiled detective slang, showing how immigrant communities shaped American pop culture and language.
Translations
AMአማርኛ
የስራ ደቂ
ye-sra de-qi
ARالعربية
محقق خاص
mu-ha-qiq khas
BNবাংলা
প্রাইভেট ডিটেক্টিভ
prai-vet det-ek-tiv
CACatalà
detective privat
de-tec-tiv pri-vat
CSČeština
soukromý detektiv
sou-krom-y de-tek-tiv
DADansk
privatdetektiv
pri-vat-de-tek-tiv
DEDeutsch
Privatdetektiv
pri-vat-de-tek-tiv
ELΕλληνικά
ιδιωτικός ερευνητής
i-di-o-ti-kos e-re-u-ni-tis
ESEspañol
detective privado
de-tec-tiv pri-va-do
FAفارسی
کارآگاه خصوصی
kar-a-gah khosh-va-si
FISuomi
yksityisetsivä
yks-i-vi-es-ti-vä
FRFrançais
détective privé
de-tek-tiv pri-ve
HEעברית
בלש פרטי
balash parti
HIहिन्दी
निजी जासूस
ni-ji ja-soos
HUMagyar
magánnyomozó
ma-gan-nyo-mo-zo
IDBahasa Indonesia
detektif swasta
de-tek-tif swa-sta
ITItaliano
detective privato
de-tec-tiv pri-va-to
KO한국어
민간탐정
min-gan-tam-jeong
MSBahasa Melayu
penyiasat swasta
pen-ya-sat swa-sta
MYမြန်မာ
ပြည်သူလူမျိုး
pyi-the-u lu-mu-jo
NLNederlands
private detective
pri-va-te de-tec-tiv
NONorsk
privatdetektiv
pri-vat-de-tek-tiv
PLPolski
detektyw prywatny
de-tek-tyw pri-va-t-ny
PTPortuguês
detetive privado
de-te-tiv pri-va-do
RORomână
detective privat
de-tec-tiv pri-vat
RUРусский
частный сыщик
chast-nyy sysh-chik
SVSvenska
frilansdetektiv
fri-lans-de-tek-tiv
SWKiswahili
mchungaji wa siri
m-chun-ga-ji wa si-ri
TAதமிழ்
தனிப்பட்ட போலீஸ்
ta-ni-ppa-tta po-lee-s
TEతెలుగు
ప్రైవేట్ డిటెక్టివ్
prai-ve-t de-tek-tiv
THไทย
นักสืบเอกชน
nak-sueb ek-chon
TLTL
pribadong imbestigador
pri-ba-dong im-bes-ti-ga-dor
TRTürkçe
gizli dedektif
giz-li de-dek-tif
UKУкраїнська
приватний детектив
pri-vat-nyy de-tek-tiv
URاردو
خفیہ ڈیٹیکٹیو
kha-fi-ya de-te-k-tiv
VITiếng Việt
thám tử tư
tham-tu tư
ZH中文
私人侦探
si-rén zhēn-tàn