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. Ironically, the word "hip" itself is antiquated, and the use of the word is fundamentally not cool, thusly implying not only the lack of modernity, trendiness, or desiribility of the subject being described as "hip" but also shows that the person using the word is not cool himself nor reliable for indicating what is cool. Slang is the use of highly informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speakers dialect or language. ... Look up Cool in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

[edit] 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 ^{[attribution needed]} believe that, like the words "jazz"^{[citation needed]}, "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". Note: This page or section contains IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. ... Headline text --67. ... Jazz is a style of music which originated in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States at around the start of the 20th century. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Wolof is a language spoken in Senegal, the Gambia, and Mauritania, and it is the native language of the ethnic group of the Wolof people. ...

An alternative theory traces the word's origins to those who used opium 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. Opium is a narcotic produced from opium poppies. ... Opium is a narcotic produced from opium poppies. ... Look up synecdoche in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

[edit] Description

Main article: cool

This term was made fun of by the comedy album How To Speak Hip by Del Close and John Brent. Look up Cool in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... How to Speak Hip was a comedy album by Del Close and John Brent, released by Mercury Records in 1959. ... Del Close Del Close (born March 9, 1934, in Manhattan, Kansas; died March 4, 1999), along with Keith Johnstone and Viola Spolin, is considered one of the premier influences on improvisational theater. ...

[edit] See also

• hipster
• Square (slang)
• The Man
• The Establishment

A hipster is a person who is strongly associated with a subculture that considers itself hip. ... The term square, in referring to a person, originally meant someone who was honest, traditional, and loyal. ... This page is about the slang phrase; for other uses of the phrase, see The Man (disambiguation). ... The Establishment is a pejorative slang term to refer to the traditional and usually conservative ruling class elite and the structures of society which they control. ...

[edit] External links

• http://slate.msn.com/id/2110811
• http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mhip.html