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Of all the slang words for money, one of the oddest to me is geetus. The word appears here in an article from 2013, although the word is much older than that.

Let’s make no mistake about it. The reason this Killeen landmark is going away is not complaints, it’s about greenbacks, geetus, Benjamins, whatever you call that stuff we need to get through life. This money man made the landowners an offer they couldn’t refuse.

• "Texas Thunder likely to close after August," Killeen Daily Herald, 2013

Green's Dictionary of Slang defines it as US slang meaning "money" and attests the range of use from 1926 to at least 2004.

The etymology is listed as unknown, possibly from "get us." Green offers a surprisingly large number and vast range of spelling forms for such a recent word:

• geetus
• geetas
• geeters
• geets
• ghedis
• gietus

Dictionary.com, citing The Dictionary of American Slang, offers a somewhat different definition (though this citation is likely inaccurate. See Sven Yarg's answer):

A person who tends to reverse or alter traditional Money

 

Pitchman must give the store a 40 percent cut on the "geedus"/ I'm spendin' my hard-earned geets (1930s+ Underworld & hawkers)

• Dictionary.com citing The Dictionary of American Slang, Fourth Edition by Barbara Ann Kipfer, PhD. and Robert L. Chapman, Ph.D.

The earliest uses I can find are all from California, which makes me wonder if the term originated on the U.S. west coast. One example:

Ernie Nevers followed the illustrious Wheaton iceman and made $35,000 in Florida without even looking at the liquid real estate. George Wilson followed the example of the other pair of famous All Americans but is still short three collars and a cuff of having enough "geetus" to start the haberdashy house he plans for Los Angeles.

• Oakland Tribune (Oakland, California)14 Feb 1926, Sun (paywall)

Questions

1. Is there any evidence beyond speculation that "geetus" possibly derived from "get us?" Is there any other etymological explanation?

2. Did the term come from California, and is it associated with any other cultural context more specific than US?

3. (Optional bonus): How does The Dictionary of American Slang definition fit in? What is meant by "A person who tends to reverse or alter traditional money?" Every sense of the word in use that I can find seems to refer to money itself.

Of all the slang words for money, one of the oddest to me is geetus. The word appears here in an article from 2013, although the word is much older than that.

Let’s make no mistake about it. The reason this Killeen landmark is going away is not complaints, it’s about greenbacks, geetus, Benjamins, whatever you call that stuff we need to get through life. This money man made the landowners an offer they couldn’t refuse.

• "Texas Thunder likely to close after August," Killeen Daily Herald, 2013

Green's Dictionary of Slang defines it as US slang meaning "money" and attests the range of use from 1926 to at least 2004.

The etymology is listed as unknown, possibly from "get us." Green offers a surprisingly large number and vast range of spelling forms for such a recent word:

• geetus
• geetas
• geeters
• geets
• ghedis
• gietus

Dictionary.com, citing The Dictionary of American Slang, offers a somewhat different definition (though this citation is likely inaccurate. See Sven Yarg's answer):

A person who tends to reverse or alter traditional Money

Pitchman must give the store a 40 percent cut on the "geedus"/ I'm spendin' my hard-earned geets (1930s+ Underworld & hawkers)

• Dictionary.com citing The Dictionary of American Slang, Fourth Edition by Barbara Ann Kipfer, PhD. and Robert L. Chapman, Ph.D.

The earliest uses I can find are all from California, which makes me wonder if the term originated on the U.S. west coast. One example:

Ernie Nevers followed the illustrious Wheaton iceman and made $35,000 in Florida without even looking at the liquid real estate. George Wilson followed the example of the other pair of famous All Americans but is still short three collars and a cuff of having enough "geetus" to start the haberdashy house he plans for Los Angeles.

• Oakland Tribune (Oakland, California)14 Feb 1926, Sun (paywall)

Questions

1. Is there any evidence beyond speculation that "geetus" possibly derived from "get us?" Is there any other etymological explanation?

2. Did the term come from California, and is it associated with any other cultural context more specific than US?

3. (Optional bonus): How does The Dictionary of American Slang definition fit in? What is meant by "A person who tends to reverse or alter traditional money?" Every sense of the word in use that I can find seems to refer to money itself.

Of all the slang words for money, one of the oddest to me is geetus. The word appears here in an article from 2013, although the word is much older than that.

Let’s make no mistake about it. The reason this Killeen landmark is going away is not complaints, it’s about greenbacks, geetus, Benjamins, whatever you call that stuff we need to get through life. This money man made the landowners an offer they couldn’t refuse.

• "Texas Thunder likely to close after August," Killeen Daily Herald, 2013

Green's Dictionary of Slang defines it as US slang meaning "money" and attests the range of use from 1926 to at least 2004.

The etymology is listed as unknown, possibly from "get us." Green offers a surprisingly large number and vast range of spelling forms for such a recent word:

• geetus
• geetas
• geeters
• geets
• ghedis
• gietus

Dictionary.com, citing The Dictionary of American Slang, offers a somewhat different definition:

A person who tends to reverse or alter traditional Money

Pitchman must give the store a 40 percent cut on the "geedus"/ I'm spendin' my hard-earned geets (1930s+ Underworld & hawkers)

• The Dictionary of American Slang, Fourth Edition by Barbara Ann Kipfer, PhD. and Robert L. Chapman, Ph.D.

The earliest uses I can find are all from California, which makes me wonder if the term originated on the U.S. west coast. One example:

Ernie Nevers followed the illustrious Wheaton iceman and made $35,000 in Florida without even looking at the liquid real estate. George Wilson followed the example of the other pair of famous All Americans but is still short three collars and a cuff of having enough "geetus" to start the haberdashy house he plans for Los Angeles.

• Oakland Tribune (Oakland, California)14 Feb 1926, Sun (paywall)

Questions

1. Is there any evidence beyond speculation that "geetus" possibly derived from "get us?" Is there any other etymological explanation?

2. Did the term come from California, and is it associated with any other cultural context more specific than US?

3. (Optional bonus): How does The Dictionary of American Slang definition fit in? What is meant by "A person who tends to reverse or alter traditional money?" Every sense of the word in use that I can find seems to refer to money itself.

Of all the slang words for money, one of the oddest to me is geetus. The word appears here in an article from 2013, although the word is much older than that.

Let’s make no mistake about it. The reason this Killeen landmark is going away is not complaints, it’s about greenbacks, geetus, Benjamins, whatever you call that stuff we need to get through life. This money man made the landowners an offer they couldn’t refuse.

• "Texas Thunder likely to close after August," Killeen Daily Herald, 2013

Green's Dictionary of Slang defines it as US slang meaning "money" and attests the range of use from 1926 to at least 2004.

The etymology is listed as unknown, possibly from "get us." Green offers a surprisingly large number and vast range of spelling forms for such a recent word:

• geetus
• geetas
• geeters
• geets
• ghedis
• gietus

Dictionary.com, citing The Dictionary of American Slang, offers a somewhat different definition (though this citation is likely inaccurate. See Sven Yarg's answer):

A person who tends to reverse or alter traditional Money

Pitchman must give the store a 40 percent cut on the "geedus"/ I'm spendin' my hard-earned geets (1930s+ Underworld & hawkers)

• Dictionary.com citing The Dictionary of American Slang, Fourth Edition by Barbara Ann Kipfer, PhD. and Robert L. Chapman, Ph.D.

The earliest uses I can find are all from California, which makes me wonder if the term originated on the U.S. west coast. One example:

Ernie Nevers followed the illustrious Wheaton iceman and made $35,000 in Florida without even looking at the liquid real estate. George Wilson followed the example of the other pair of famous All Americans but is still short three collars and a cuff of having enough "geetus" to start the haberdashy house he plans for Los Angeles.

• Oakland Tribune (Oakland, California)14 Feb 1926, Sun (paywall)

Questions

1. Is there any evidence beyond speculation that "geetus" possibly derived from "get us?" Is there any other etymological explanation?

2. Did the term come from California, and is it associated with any other cultural context more specific than US?

3. (Optional bonus): How does The Dictionary of American Slang definition fit in? What is meant by "A person who tends to reverse or alter traditional money?" Every sense of the word in use that I can find seems to refer to money itself.

Of all the slang words for money, one of the oddest to me is geetus. The word appears here in an article from 2013, although the word is much older than that.

Let’s make no mistake about it. The reason this Killeen landmark is going away is not complaints, it’s about greenbacks, geetus, Benjamins, whatever you call that stuff we need to get through life. This money man made the landowners an offer they couldn’t refuse.

• "Texas Thunder likely to close after August," Killeen Daily Herald, 2013

Green's Dictionary of Slang defines it as US slang meaning "money" and attests the range of use from 1926 to at least 2004.

The etymology is listed as unknown, possibly from "get us." Green offers a surprisingly large number and vast range of spelling forms for such a recent word:

• geetus
• geetas
• geeters
• geets
• ghedis
• gietus

Dictionary.com, citing The Dictionary of American Slang, offers a somewhat different definition:

A person who tends to reverse or alter traditional Money

Pitchman must give the store a 40 percent cut on the "geedus"/ I'm spendin' my hard-earned geets (1930s+ Underworld & hawkers)

• The Dictionary of American Slang, Fourth Edition by Barbara Ann Kipfer, PhD. and Robert L. Chapman, Ph.D.

The earliest uses I can find are all from California, which makes me wonder if the term originated on the U.S. west coast. One example:

Ernie Nevers followed the illustrious Wheaton iceman and made $35,000 in Florida without even looking at the liquid real estate. George Wilson followed the example of the other pair of famous All Americans but is still short three collars and a cuff of having enough "geetus" to start the haberdashy house he plans for Los Angeles.

• Oakland Tribune (Oakland, California)14 Feb 1926, Sun (paywall)

Questions

0. How does The Dictionary of American Slang definition fit in? What is meant by "A person who tends to reverse or alter traditional money?" Every sense of the word in use that I can find seems to refer to money itself.

1. Is there any evidence beyond speculation that "geetus" possibly derived from "get us?" Is there any other etymological explanation?

2. Did the term come from California, and is it associated with any other cultural context more specific than US?

Of all the slang words for money, one of the oddest to me is geetus. The word appears here in an article from 2013, although the word is much older than that.

Let’s make no mistake about it. The reason this Killeen landmark is going away is not complaints, it’s about greenbacks, geetus, Benjamins, whatever you call that stuff we need to get through life. This money man made the landowners an offer they couldn’t refuse.

• "Texas Thunder likely to close after August," Killeen Daily Herald, 2013

Green's Dictionary of Slang defines it as US slang meaning "money" and attests the range of use from 1926 to at least 2004.

The etymology is listed as unknown, possibly from "get us." Green offers a surprisingly large number and vast range of spelling forms for such a recent word:

• geetus
• geetas
• geeters
• geets
• ghedis
• gietus

Dictionary.com, citing The Dictionary of American Slang, offers a somewhat different definition:

A person who tends to reverse or alter traditional Money

Pitchman must give the store a 40 percent cut on the "geedus"/ I'm spendin' my hard-earned geets (1930s+ Underworld & hawkers)

• The Dictionary of American Slang, Fourth Edition by Barbara Ann Kipfer, PhD. and Robert L. Chapman, Ph.D.

The earliest uses I can find are all from California, which makes me wonder if the term originated on the U.S. west coast. One example:

Ernie Nevers followed the illustrious Wheaton iceman and made $35,000 in Florida without even looking at the liquid real estate. George Wilson followed the example of the other pair of famous All Americans but is still short three collars and a cuff of having enough "geetus" to start the haberdashy house he plans for Los Angeles.

• Oakland Tribune (Oakland, California)14 Feb 1926, Sun (paywall)

Questions

1. Is there any evidence beyond speculation that "geetus" possibly derived from "get us?" Is there any other etymological explanation?

2. Did the term come from California, and is it associated with any other cultural context more specific than US?

3. (Optional bonus): How does The Dictionary of American Slang definition fit in? What is meant by "A person who tends to reverse or alter traditional money?" Every sense of the word in use that I can find seems to refer to money itself.