Brouhaha

The earliest known English usage of this word is from 1890, and thus probably postdates the French "brouhaha" (1552), said to have been, in medieval theater, "the cry of the devil disguised as clergy."
Etymology
The etymological question is in regards to the French word. Some linguists argue that the word is an onomatopœia, simply imitating laughter—since the devil is often depicted in laughter—or the sound of a struggle or riot; others present different theories on its origin. Walther von Wartburg, a German linguist, suggested that the word was based on the Hebrew greeting barukh habba, an equivalent of 'welcome' meaning “blessed be the one who comes”.
John Peter Maher, another linguist who has studied the roots of the word, believes the word could have originated in Colloseum rings, from the Italian word bravo. Another theory is an origin from the Aretin (Italian dialect) word "barruccaba", meaning "confusion".
Greek scholar James Updegraff and his colleagues (Roy Perkins, Chris Eggemeyer, and Rory Soltan) suggest that the word may come from the Greek word βρυΧα, the second person singular form of the word meaning 'to roar'.

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