Hippie Came From Hip, Which Came From Jazz
A hippie belonged to the 1960s counterculture. The name derives from *hip*, and it was originally slightly mocking.
A hippie was a member of the 1960s counterculture. The name came from *hip*, meaning aware or fashionable, a word from African American jazz culture. *Hippie* was formed with a diminutive ending and carried a hint of condescension — a junior hipster, not quite the real thing — and the people it described often preferred other names.
- A member of the 1960s counterculture. *An ageing hippie.*
- Hip — fashionable or aware. *That is hip.*
- Hipster — the older term, and a modern revival. *A 1940s hipster.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | hippie | An old hippie. |
| Plural | hippies | Two hippies. |
| Variant | hippy | The same word. |
| Adjective | hip | A hip venue. |
| Related | hipster | A modern hipster. |
How it is used in a sentence
- The word came from jazz slang.Via *hip*.
- Hipster is the older word.Used from the 1940s.
- The Summer of Love was 1967.The movement's high point.
Counterculture vocabulary
- Hip — aware, from jazz culture
- Hipster — one who is hip, from the 1940s
- Beatnik — the 1950s predecessor, formed with a Russian ending
- Square — conventional, the opposite of hip
- Groovy — excellent, from the record groove
From *hip*, of uncertain origin in African American English, plus the diminutive *-ie*. Recorded in the counterculture sense from 1965.
Where does *hip* come from?
From African American English, probably early twentieth century. Its exact origin has never been settled.
Why does *beatnik* end in -nik?
A San Francisco columnist added the Russian suffix from Sputnik in 1958, implying the group was un-American.