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:
Dictionary of American Slang Dictionary of American Slang The Dictionary of American Slang is a dictionary of slang edited by Stuart Flexner and Harold Wentworth, first published in 1960 by Thomas Crowell Company. The first three editions (1960, 1967, 1975) were edited by Flexner and Wentworth, while the third (1995) and fourth editions (2010) were largely reworked and edited by Barbara Ann Kipfer and Robert L. Chapman The dictionary was banned from some schools in California in 1963 as part of larger concern with its potential obscenity, including concern from Los Angeles City Councilman John C. Holland. Later it was banned from certain schools