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- For other uses of the term, see hip (disambiguation).
Hip is a slang term, an adjective meaning "fashionably current", referring to someone who is conversant with or deeply involved in a particular trend or subject. "Hip", like "cool", does not refer to one particular quality. What is hip is in constant change.
Etymology
The term originated in African American Vernacular English (AAVE) in the late 1920s. "Hip" is derived from the earlier form "hep", but despite research and speculation by both amateur and professional etymologists, the origins of "hip" and "hep" are disputed. Nevertheless, many etymologists believe that, like the words "jazz", "dig" and "banana", the terms "hip", "hep" and "hepcat" derive from the West African Wolof language, in this case the term "hepicat", which means "one who has his eyes open".
An alternative theory traces the word's origins to those who used heroin recreationally in the 19th century. Opium smokers commonly consumed the drug lying on their sides, as in opium dens (on their hips); this being a practice of socially-influential trend-setting individuals, the cachet it enjoyed led to the circulation of the term 'hip' by way of a kind of synecdoche.
Like many other terms, this usage is believed to have come into English from Wolof or other related languages spoken by the West African people who were kidnapped and taken as slaves to the Americas.
Description
This term was made fun of by the comedy album How To Speak Hip by Del Close and John Brent.
See also
External links
- http://slate.msn.com/id/2110811
- http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mhip.html
"Hip (slang)"