Etymology Origin unknown. Perhaps from French pimpant (“smart, sparkish”) or German Pimpf (“a boy, a youth, a young squirt”). The Old English near-synonym was rendered by Old English forspennend (literally “a solicitor”).
1
Someone who solicits customers for prostitution and acts as manager for a group of prostitutes; a pander.
"I'm not a whore. You're a pimp and a stupid American, and if you want to pick up a silly bitch on the street you'd better go back to the other side where you belong!"1969, Bonnie Bremser, Troia: Mexican Memoirs, page 111:
A fella looking dapper / And he's sittin' with a slapper / Then I see it's a pimp / And his crack whore2006, Lily Allen, Iyiola Babalola, Darren Lewis, Tommy McCook, “LDN”, in Alright, Still, performed by Lily Allen:
1 more example
All my life, been hustling / And tonight is my appraisal / 'Cause I'm a hooker selling songs / And my pimp's a record label2018, Brendon Urie, Michael Angelakos, Sam Hollander, Morgan Kibby, Jake Sinclair, Dillon Francis, “Hey Look Ma, I Made It”, in Pray for the Wicked, performed by Panic! at the Disco:
Etymology Origin unknown. Perhaps from French pimpant (“smart, sparkish”) or German Pimpf (“a boy, a youth, a young squirt”). The Old English near-synonym was rendered by Old English forspennend (literally “a solicitor”).
1
To act as a procurer of prostitutes; to pander.
2
To prostitute someone.
The smooth-talking, tall man with heavy gold bracelets claimed he could pimp anyone.
3
Slang To excessively customize something, especially a vehicle.
African-American Vernacular
You pimped out that motorcycle f'real, dawg.
4
Medicine, SciencesSlang To ask progressively harder and ultimately unanswerable questions of a resident or medical student (said of a senior member of the medical staff).
Only an attending physician can pimp a chief resident; the chief resident and attending can pimp a junior resident; they all three can pimp an intern.2004, Robert A. Blume, Arthur W. Combs, The Continuing American Revolution: A Psychological Perspective, page 183:
I gotta show you this sweet website where you can pimp your blog and get more readers.
The trendy rehabs being pimped by the addiction industry's glossy PR.1990 February 4, Leonard Tirado, “Privatized 'Recovery' Versus Collective Action”, in Gay Community News, volume 17, number 29, page 19:
6
US, Slang To persuade, smooth talk or trick another into doing something for your benefit.
I pimped her out of $2,000 and she paid for the entire stay at the Bahamas.
Etymology Origin unknown. Perhaps from French pimpant (“smart, sparkish”) or German Pimpf (“a boy, a youth, a young squirt”). The Old English near-synonym was rendered by Old English forspennend (literally “a solicitor”).
Etymology From Brythonic numerals, from Proto-Brythonic *pɨmp. Cognate with Welsh pump, Cornish pymp, Breton pemp. Doublet of cinque, fin (“five currency units”), finnuf, five, ponzu, punch (“beverage”), and sengi (“currency”); related to Pompeii.