Etymologically
Log in

vibe

Etymology and origin of the English word vibe

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Clipping
First attested
1940

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /vaɪb/[1]

Etymology

It is a clipping, first of vibraphone, and later of vibration in its 1960s slang sense of an instinctive feeling.[2][3][4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

As vibes, a vibraphone: 1940.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

A feeling or atmosphere, usually as vibes, is from 1967.[2][3][5] A vibraphone player has been a vibist since 1955.[3] Collins records a slang verb, to have a pleasant or congenial experience.[4]

Timeline

  • 1940 – vibes, a vibraphone.[2][3]
  • 1955 – vibist.[3]
  • 1967 – vibes, a feeling.[2][3]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. (informal) A feeling, atmosphere or emotional quality, often in the plural: a 1970s vibe.
  2. vibes (colloquial): a vibraphone.

Verb

  1. (slang) To have a pleasant, congenial experience.

Word family

  • vibist
  • vibration
  • vibrate
  • vibraphone

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
Cite this entry

“Vibe.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/vibe. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·