hip hip hooray

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

Recorded as far back as 1803. The word hip was in use then as a meaningless syllable to get someone's attention. Hooray (or hurrah) goes back to 1686, and also had no specific meaning, used instead to get a person's attention.

A folk etymology for this interjection suggests it comes from the anti-Semitic 1819 German Hep-Hep riots, however many examples[1][2] of "Hip Hip" exist in English prior to 1819, for example:

  • 1813, Edmond Temple, The Life of Pill Garlick‎, London, page 243:
    The first toast “Success to Pill Garlick lick and his saucy crew,” was drank with nine times nine, hip! hip! hip! and a hoorra! The tumult was excessive.

Interjection

hip hip hooray

  1. An exclamation of congratulations and/or celebration, especially in response to a call for "three cheers for" the person. Often the person calling for the cheers will yell "Hip! Hip!", the crowd replying "Hooray!"

Translations

See also

References
  1. "Three Cheers, Hip-Hip-Hurrah, and Tom and Jerry, a Cheer-ful etymology" Peter Jensen Brown
  2. WordOrigins.org Dave Wilton
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