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:
A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English include his opinions [on word etymology] in what presented itself as a work of reference". However, Mullan also argued that by 2002 the dictionary entries were growing continually further out of date and out of touch with modern slang usages. In 1972, an abridgement (by Jacqueline Simpson) of the 1961 edition was published by Penguin Reference Books as "A Dictionary of Historical Slang". Following the seventh published edition of "A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English" in 1969, Eric Partridge had collected new material for another edition until his 1979 death. Prior to his death, Partridge "designated a successor", librarian