Séamus since then. Though still used by some as a derogatory term, the great preponderance of Irish and Irish-American law enforcement officers led to a persisting stereotype, and the name "Shamus" continues to refer to Irish-American police and private detectives. Séamus Variant spellings include ', ', ', ', "Shaymus", "Sheamus" and "Shamus". Diminutives include ', ' and "". In the United States, the word "Shamus" is a derogatory slang misspelling of Séamus that arose during the 19th century as more than 4.5 million Irish immigrated to America, peaking at almost two million between 1845 and 1852 during ""The Great Hunger"" (Irish:
Historical Dictionary of American Slang Historical Dictionary of American Slang The Historical Dictionary of American Slang, often abbreviated HDAS, is a dictionary of American slang. The first two volumes, "Volume 1, A – G" (1994), and "Volume 2, H – O" (1997), were published by Random House, and the work then was known as the Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang, sometimes abbreviated as RHHDAS. Both volumes used the same ISBN, ; the paperback editions are for Volume 1 and for Volume 2. When Random House discontinued publication, Oxford University Press announced in 2003 that it would publish the two remaining volumes, "Volume 3,