hep meaning (informal): definition, etymology and quotations

hep

noun

/hɛp/

Etymology Shortening.

Abbreviation Abbreviation of high-energy physics.

hep

adj

Etymology US slang of unknown or disputed origin, first recorded 1903. Robert Gold suggested that it is a variant of hip, from white jazz fans’ mishearing African American musicians. Jonathon Green suggests a connection to a 19th century interjection used to drive horses; compare gee up.

Dated, Slang Aware, up-to-date.

I was pleased, as I put him hep on the Wilbert-Phyllis situation and revealed the part he was expected to play in it, to note that he showed no signs of being about to issue the presidential veto.1960, P. G. Wodehouse, Jeeves in the Offing, chapter IX:

Dated, Slang Cool, hip, sophisticated.

And I was struck to notice that though the band was only Jumble imitation of our style, it was quite a hep combination, with some feel of the beat, not like those dreadful records of the English bands I'd heard back home which never can play slow, and never can play easy to the limbs.1964 [1957], Colin MacInnes, City of Spades, London: Penguin Books, page 59:

Derived terms: hepcat, hepness, hepster, hip

hep

verb

US, Dated, Slang To make aware of.

I hepped him to the situation.

hep

intj

Etymology From German hep or Hepp-Hepp, an interjection used to attack Jewish people. The origin of the German source is unknown, but may come from a goatherd’s call.

Historical A rallying cry in attacks on the Jewish people.

Let us hope that the modern “Hep-Hep” cry of Antisemitism of to-day will be accompanied by a similar level of Judaism.1893, Emanuel Schreiber, Historians of Judaism in the Nineteenth Century, page 13:

Related terms: hep-lock

hep

noun

Etymology Alteration of hip.

Obsolete A hip of a rose; a rosehip.

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.