gung ho

/ˌɡʌŋ ˈhoʊ/ Chinese Origin Culture

Original Word

工合

Mandarin (gōng hé)

Entered English

1940s

First recorded usage in English

The Story Behind "gung ho"

From Mandarin 'gōng hé' (工合), short for 'gōngyè hézuòshè' (industrial cooperative). Adopted by US Marine Corps Major Evans Carlson in WWII to mean 'work together' with great enthusiasm.

Example Usage

"The new team members were really gung ho about the project."

All Chinese Loanwords Look Up in Dictionary

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