yep

Pronunciation

• IPA: /jep/^[1]

Etymology

It is an alteration of yes or yeah, made for emphasis,^[2][3][4] perhaps influenced by nope,^[2][3][4] or formed in the same way, by closing the lips sharply.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Yes, in American English: 1889 in Etymonline, 1891 in the OED and MWU,^[2][5][6] and 1897 in Barnhart, in Kipling's Captains Courageous.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The OED described it as a dialectal or vulgar pronunciation of yes, especially in the United States.^[5] The variants yip and yup are also recorded.^[4]

Timeline

• 1889 – yes (US).^[2]
• 1897 – in Kipling.^[3]

Modern meaning

Adverb

1. (informal) Yes.

Related words

• yes
• yeah
• nope
• yup

Usage notes

A different yep, from the late 17th century, is a call to urge on a horse,^[5][4] and in Lancashire and Lincolnshire dialect it was also a cry used in driving sheep.^[7]

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 Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)