mazuma(n.)
1894年的俚语,意为“钱”,源自意第绪语,来自米什纳希伯来语 mezumman “指定的,固定的,约定的”,在中世纪希伯来语中用于表示“现金”(比较俚语 the needful “钱”),来自阿卡德语(闪族语系)simanu “约定时间”。它出现在“People v. Stokes”一案中,该案在加利福尼亚州最高法院进行辩论(1894年),引用了早期审判的报纸报道,提到了“Mazuma 上校”:
It appears that the term "Colonel Mazuma" not only does not indicate some gentleman with a military title, but it does not even refer to a person at all. We fail to find the term mentioned by our lexicographers, but understand it to be a modern provincialism, probably emanating from the daily press, and used when referring to the corrupt application of money in the accomplishment of certain ends. If these jurors understood this term with the signification thus attached to it, it of itself furnished ample material to demand a retrial of the case. ["Pacific Reporter," vol. xxxvii]
看来,“Mazuma 上校”这个术语不仅不表示某位拥有军衔的绅士,而且根本不是指一个人。我们没有在词典中找到这个词,但我们理解它是一个现代的方言,可能源自日报,用于指涉在实现某些目的时对金钱的腐败应用。如果这些陪审员理解这个词的含义,那么这本身就足以提出要求重新审判此案的充分材料。[“太平洋报道”,第三十七卷]
该词起源时间:1894年