Scouse › What does "Scouse" mean?
What does "Scouse" mean?
Scouse has three main meanings: a stew, the dialect of Liverpool, and a person from Liverpool. The word has a documented history, though the earliest origins are unclear.
Three meanings
- Scouse (noun): a stew of meat, potatoes and vegetables. See our scouse recipe.
- Scouse (noun): the accent and dialect of Liverpool and nearby areas.
- Scouse (adjective) / Scouser (noun): a person from Liverpool, or something to do with the city.
From stew to nickname
The Oxford English Dictionary, as quoted on Wikipedia, says "scouse" is a shortened form of lobscouse; read more in the history of lobscouse. The stew gave its name to the people. Wikipedia's entry on the accent says that in the 19th century people in Liverpool and Bootle ate it as a cheap dish, and the media began calling them "scousers".
The earliest uses for people
The Word Histories website traced the nickname back through printed sources. Its earliest example of "Scouse" for the person is in the Liverpool Echo of 22 August 1939, in an article by an American visitor. It also cites a letter in the Liverpool Daily Post of 1 August 1942 that says "Scouser" was already used in speech before the Second World War and links the word to the stew. Most of the printed evidence comes from the war years, when sailors and soldiers from across the country served together and spread nicknames. Earlier use was mostly spoken and local, so it is hard to trace.
Wikipedia also notes the historian Alan Crosby's suggestion that the term became nationally known through the BBC sitcom Till Death Us Do Part (1965 to 1975).
The word for the speech
A chapter in the Cambridge University Press book Scouse argues that the term was applied to Liverpool's language only in the 20th century and that older dictionaries do not use it in that sense. So when you read that "Scouse is 900 years old" you should be sceptical.
Scouser or Liverpudlian?
Word Histories describes Liverpudlian as a synonym formed from "Liverpool" and the suffix "-ian", with a playful alteration influenced by "puddle". Many people from the city use both words. "Scouser" is an informal term; "Liverpudlian" is more formal. Locals decide which they prefer, so listen to what they call themselves.
Who counts as a Scouser?
This is debated locally. The Liverpudlian explains that terms like "plastic Scouser" are used about people from Merseyside outside the city who claim to be from Liverpool. The term "Scouse" is also used for the accent in nearby towns such as Runcorn and Skelmersdale, where Wikipedia says the accent has spread since the 1950s.
Where the name Liverpool comes from
That too is debated. Word Histories says one theory links "liver" to muddy water, meaning the Mersey. It is unproven.
Scouse in the wider language
The word has also been used in other fields. The Cambridge University Press book Scouse treats the dialect as the subject of serious linguistic study, and the "en-Scouse" language tag was accepted by IANA in 2000. That tells you it is an accepted name for the speech, even if the origin of the stew word is unknown.
More
For the sounds of the accent see The Scouse accent, and for words see the slang glossary.
Frequently asked questions
Why are people from Liverpool called Scousers?
They are named after scouse, the stew. In the 19th century, people in Liverpool and Bootle ate it as a cheap dish and the media began calling them scousers.
When was the word Scouse first used for a person?
The earliest printed example found by Word Histories is in the Liverpool Echo of 22 August 1939. Spoken use may be older.
Is Liverpudlian the same as Scouser?
Both mean a person from Liverpool. Scouser is informal; Liverpudlian is more formal.