Mugwump?

[Judy M. Ellis <penumbra10@yahoo.com>]

No: HPFGUIDX 49551

"Dan" wrote:
> I was just reading up on my American History when I noticed <snip> 
>In 1884, the Republican presidential candidate James Blaine was 
>linked to a corrupt deal. Some Republicans ditched their party for 
>the Democrats because they were so put off by Blaine's lack of 
>honesty.<snip> [They were called] "Mugwumps," meaning "Holier-Than-
>Thou." Odd how Dumbledore, in SS is credited with being the Supreme 
>Mugwump...
 
  No, not odd at all since it is highly unlikey that Dumbledore would 
have been a part of the muggle American Republican Party of 1884.  
You have to be a citizen to vote, remember and the Wizarding World, 
as far as we know, has no political parties?  The word itself is 
American, however, derived from the Algonquin (Indian) dialect *mogki-
-* meaning "great" and *--omp* meaning "chief." [Webster's Third New 
International Dictionary]  
  Although, since 1884,  it is rarely used outside of the American 
political scene, it's primary non-political meaning is simply "a 
person of importance."  Jo Rowling might have come across it in a 
compendium of unusual words, since she collects unusual words to use 
as names.  I found this link on the web which investigates English 
from a Brit perspective.  It investigates the origins and meanings of 
the word more thoroughly.
:-)  Judy
http://www.quinion.com/words/weirdwords/ww-mug1.htm