''Coochie'', ''coochee'' or ''coochi'' is an American term often used as a cute or slang word for a

vulva In mammals, the vulva (: vulvas or vulvae) comprises mostly external, visible structures of the female sex organ, genitalia leading into the interior of the female reproductive tract. For humans, it includes the mons pubis, labia majora, lab ...

. It has also been used as a slang descriptor in relation to a belly dance and related types of movement.

In dance and related uses

The term is a slang descriptor often used in relation to a belly dance or wiggling, as in "Coochie Coochie dance", " Hoochee-Coochee", and the saying "coochie coochie coo" when tickling an infant. It is also used as sexually suggestive

slang A slang is a vocabulary (words, phrases, and linguistic usages) of an informal register, common in everyday conversation but avoided in formal writing and speech. It also often refers to the language exclusively used by the members of pa ...

in the Southern United States, referring to the

vagina In mammals and other animals, the vagina (: vaginas or vaginae) is the elastic, muscular sex organ, reproductive organ of the female genital tract. In humans, it extends from the vulval vestibule to the cervix (neck of the uterus). The #Vag ...

. The slang term 'coochie', popular in the USA is likely to be derived from the German word 'Kuchen', meaning 'a pie or cake'. It may trace back to a song performed at the

1893 Chicago World's Fair The World's Columbian Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in Chicago from May 5 to October 31, 1893, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The ce ...

''coochie''
at LLC's Dictionary.com by a dancer named Little Egypt, who was filmed in 1896 by

Thomas Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February11, 1847October18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventions, ...

for the ''

Coochee Coochee Dance ''Coochie'', ''coochee'' or ''coochi'' is an American term often used as a cute or slang word for a vulva. It has also been used as a slang descriptor in relation to a belly dance and related types of movement. In dance and related uses The term ...

'' film short. The song was created by

Sol Bloom Sol Bloom (March 9, 1870March 7, 1949) was an American song-writer and politician from New York City who began his career as an entertainment impresario and sheet music publisher in Chicago. He served fourteen terms in the United States House of ...

. One explanation of the

etymology Etymology ( ) is the study of the origin and evolution of words—including their constituent units of sound and meaning—across time. In the 21st century a subfield within linguistics, etymology has become a more rigorously scientific study. ...

attributes it to the French word ''coucher'', meaning to lie down. Another possible root is the Central American and Caribbean Spanish ''chocha,'' likewise a slang term for the vulva, possibly derived from the Mexican ''panocha,'' yet another slang term for the vulva, in metaphoric transference from the cones of brown sugar sold in Mexican markets. After the sexually provocative dance became wildly popular during and after the World's Fair, the term "hoochie coochie man" came to refer to someone who either watched the performer(s) or ran the show. Alternatively, from the directly sexual meaning of "

hoochie coochie The hoochie coochie () is a catch-all term to describe several sexually provocative belly dance-like dances from the mid-to late 1800s. Also spelled hootchy-kootchy and a number of other variations, it is often associated with "The Streets of Cai ...

", the term referred to someone who greatly enjoyed sexual intercourse. The erotic dancing was popular in film booths and was a precursor of the

striptease A striptease is an erotic or exotic dance in which the performer gradually undresses, either partly or completely, in a seductive and sexually suggestive manner. The person who performs a striptease is commonly known as a "stripper", "exotic d ...

In music

Various folk and popular songs including the term have been recorded, including an Alabama folk song, "

Coochi Coochi Coo ''Coochie'', ''coochee'' or ''coochi'' is an American term often used as a cute or slang word for a vulva. It has also been used as a slang descriptor in relation to a belly dance and related types of movement. In dance and related uses The term i ...

" by

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April25, 1917June15, 1996) was an American singer, songwriter and composer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phra ...

, the song "

Coochie Coo Coochie may refer to: * Coochee (alternative spelling), a slang descriptor used in relation to a belly dance ** Hoochie coochie, a catch-all term to describe several sexually provocative belly dance-like dances * The town on Coochiemudlo Island, ...

", and

2 Live Crew 2 Live Crew is an American hip hop group from Miami, Florida, formed in 1984. The group was originally composed of DJ Mr. Mixx (David Hobbs), Fresh Kid Ice (Christopher Wong Won), and Amazing Vee (Yuri Vielot), though its most well-known lineup ...

's "

Pop That Coochie "Pop That Coochie" ("Pop That Pussy" on the album) is a song by American hip hop group 2 Live Crew.Pop Tha ...

In literature

In the 1996 play ''

The Vagina Monologues ''The Vagina Monologues'' is an episodic play written in 1996 by Eve Ensler which developed and premiered at HERE Arts Center, Off-Off-Broadway in New York and was followed by an Off-Broadway run at the Westside Theatre. The play explores ...

'', "coochi", as in "my coochi snorcher", is one of the slang terms for the

.Victor, Terry and Dalzell, Tom (2007) ''The Concise New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English'
p.160
/ref>Ultramontane Associates (1999
''Culture Wars'', Volume 19
p.94 The form "coochi" is derived from the more common "coochie" of the early 1990s.

References

{{Reflist English-language slang Slang terms for sex organs Vagina

In dance and related uses

In music

In literature

See also

References