Advertisement

Want to remove ads? Log in to see fewer ads, and become a Premium Member to remove all ads.

Origin and history of yep

yep

by 1889, American English, variant of yes or yeah, altered for emphasis, or possibly influenced by nope.

also from 1889

Entries linking to yep

nope(adv.)

1888, emphatic form of no, with emphasis on the closing of the lips.

yes(adv., interj.)

Middle English yis, from Old English gise, gyse, gese "so be it!," probably from gea, ge "so" (see yea) + si "be it!," reconstructed to be from Proto-Germanic *sijai-, from PIE *si-, optative stem of root *es- "to be."

Originally stronger than simple yea. Used in Shakespeare mainly as an answer to negative questions. Yes, yes, indicating impatience, anxiety, enthusiasm is attested by mid-15c.

As a noun from 1712, "an utterance of 'yes,'" hence "assent, affirmative reply." As a verb, "assent," by 1820; as "flatter by agreement," by 1921.

yup

1906, variant of yes or a lowered pronunciation of yep.

    Advertisement

    Want to remove ads? Log in to see fewer ads, and become a Premium Member to remove all ads.

    Trends of yep

    adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable.

    More to explore

    cracker-jack
    "Yep. He's with one of the big racing teams. I tell you, he's a cracker-jack!...
    experience
    late 14c., "observation as the source of knowledge; actual observation; an event which has affected one," from Old French esperience "experiment, proof, experience" (13c.), from Latin experientia "a trial, proof, experiment; knowledge gained by repeated trials," from experientem
    tradition
    late 14c., "statement, belief, or practice handed down from generation to generation," especially "belief or practice based on Mosaic law," from Old French tradicion "transmission, presentation, handing over" (late 13c.) and directly from Latin traditionem (nominative traditio) "
    review
    mid-15c., review, revewe, reveue, "a formal inspection of military forces" by a higher official or superior in rank, to judge the effectiveness of their training, from Old French reveue "a reviewing, review" (Modern French revue), noun use of fem. past participle of reveeir "to s
    respect
    late 14c., "relationship, relation; regard, consideration" (as in in respect to), from Old French respect and directly from Latin respectus "regard, a looking at," literally "act of looking back (or often) at one," noun use of past participle of respicere "look back at, regard, c
    tattoo
    1680s, "signal calling soldiers or sailors to quarters at night," earlier tap-to (1640s), from Dutch taptoe, from tap "faucet of a cask" (see tap (n.1)) + toe "shut, to" (from Proto-Germanic *to; see to (prep.)). "So called because police formerly visited taverns in the evening t
    steward
    Middle English steuard, steward, "official in charge of the domestic affairs of a (large) household," from Old English stiward, stigweard "one who has charge of the affairs of the household or estate of another," from stig "hall, pen for cattle, part of a house" (see sty (n.1)) +
    girl
    c. 1300, gyrle "child, young person" (of either sex but most frequently of females), of unknown origin. One guess [OED] leans toward an unrecorded Old English *gyrele, from Proto-Germanic *gurwilon-, diminutive of *gurwjoz (apparently also represented by Low German gære "boy, gir
    helpmeet
    also help-meet, a ghost word from the 1611 "King James" translation of the Bible, in which it was at first a two-word noun-adjective phrase translating Latin adjutorium simile sibi [Genesis ii.18] as "an help meet for him," and meaning literally "a helper like himself."  Rob
    concrete
    late 14c., "actual, solid; particular, individual; denoting a substance," from Latin concretus "condensed, hardened, stiff, curdled, congealed, clotted," figuratively "thick; dim," literally "grown together;" past participle of concrescere "to grow together," from assimilated for

    Share yep

    Advertisement

    Want to remove ads? Log in to see fewer ads, and become a Premium Member to remove all ads.

    Trending
    Dictionary entries near yep
    Advertisement

    Want to remove ads? Log in to see fewer ads, and become a Premium Member to remove all ads.

    Want to remove ads? Log in to see fewer ads, and become a Premium Member to remove all ads.