honcho

== English == === Etymology === From Japanese 班(はん)長(ちょう) (hanchō, “squad leader”), from 19th c. Mandarin 班長 / 班长 (bānzhǎng, “team leader”). Probably entered English during World War II: many apocryphal stories describe American soldiers hearing Japanese prisoners-of-war refer to their lieutenants as hanchō. === Pronunciation === (US) IPA(key): /ˈhɑn.t͡ʃoʊ/, enPR: hŏnʹchō (UK) IPA(key): /ˈhɒn.tʃəʊ/, enPR: hŏnʹchō Rhymes: -ɒntʃəʊ Hyphenation: hon‧cho === Noun === honcho (plural honchos or honchoes) (informal) Boss, leader. ==== Derived terms ==== head honcho ==== Translations ==== === Verb === honcho (third-person singular simple present honchos, present participle honchoing, simple past and past participle honchoed) (transitive, informal, Canada, US) To lead or manage. === Further reading === “honcho”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022. Douglas Harper (2001–2026), “honcho”, in Online Etymology Dictionary. == Japanese == === Romanization === honcho Rōmaji transcription of ほんちょ