Hip

Origin of: Hip

Hip

Hip is an American slang expression that dates from the late 19th/early 20th century and means with it or informed. Its origin is obscure but is thought to derive from the slightly earlier word hep which meant the same thing. Hep-cat in the 1930s was an American expression for a fan or admirer of jazz but has now largely died out. Hip seems to have generally replaced hep but no one really knows why.