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Hip is a Slang term meaning ''fashionably current''. ''Hip'', like '' Cool '', does not refer to one specific quality. What is considered hip is in constant change. The term ''hip'' is said to have originated in African American Vernacular English (AAVE) in the early 1900s, derived from the earlier form ''hep''. Despite research and speculation by both amateur and professional Etymologists , the origins of the term ''hip'' and ''hep'' are disputed. However, many etymologists believe that the terms ''hip'', ''hep'' and ''hepcat'' derive from the West Africa n Wolof Language word ''hepicat'', which means "one who has his eyes open".Holloway, Joseph E. The Impact of African Languages on American English . '' Slavery in America ''. Retrieved on 2006-10-05. 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 (i.e. their hips). Because opium smoking was 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 . This theory, however far-fetched, is most certainly disproven by the fact that the term ''hep'' was used until around 1940, when it was replaced in popular culture with the term ''hip'' for no apparent reason other than to make the word current again. Early currency of the term (as the past participle ''hipped'', meaning informed), is documented in the 1914 novel ''The Auction Block'' by Rex Beach (bolding added): :"His collection of Napoleana is the finest in this country; he is an authority on French history of that period - in fact, he's as nearly hipped on the subject as a man of his powers can be considered hipped on anything" Rex Beach , (1914) ''The Auction Block'', New York: A. L. Burt, p.91-92. In 1947, Harry "The Hipster" Gibson wrote the song "It Ain't Hep" about the switch from ''hep'' to ''hip':'
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