hype English · revision 10416
17 Oct 2026, 02:45 by bogdan “en10k b0356: modest … hype” current version
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+ Hype, exaggerated publicity, comes partly from criminal slang hype, to short-change; hype, a hypodermic injection, is a shortening of hypodermic.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)
+
+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA: /haɪp/^(Wiktionary)
+
+ {{homograph|1|publicity}}
+
+ {{infobox|confidence=uncertain|formation=back-formation|attested=1926|origins=en hyper}}
+
+ ==Etymology==
+ It is probably partly a back-formation from [[hyperbole]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) and partly from underworld slang hype, to swindle by overcharging or short-changing (1926),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) apparently a back-formation from hyper, a short-change confidence man (1914), from the prefix [[hyper-]], over, to excess.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) It may also have been influenced by drug addicts' slang hype, from hypodermic.^(Etymonline) Merriam-Webster calls this hype of unknown origin.^(MWU 2024)
+
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ To short-change or cheat, and the noun, deception, a confidence trick: 1926.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)
+
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ Excessive or misleading publicity is from 1967, in American English,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) though Etymonline finds the verb from 1937 and Merriam-Webster dates the noun to 1955.^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) The person or thing so promoted is also called a hype.^(Collins 2023)
+
+ ==Timeline==
+ * 1914 – hyper, a short-change man.^(Barnhart 1988)
+ * 1926 – to cheat; a swindle.^(OED 1989)
+ * 1967 – excessive publicity.^(Barnhart 1988)
+
+ ==Modern meaning==
+ ===Noun===
+ # Exaggerated or excessive publicity or promotion.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)
+ # Extravagant claims, especially in advertising.^(AHD)
+ # A deception or racket.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)
+
+ ===Verb===
+ # To promote with extravagant or misleading claims.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)
+
+ ==Word family==
+ * [[hyped]]
+
+ {{homograph|2|injection}}
+
+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=clipping|attested=1924|origins=en hypodermic}}
+
+ ==Etymology==
+ It is a shortening of [[hypodermic]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)^(SOED 2002)
+
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ A hypodermic injection, or a drug addict: 1924, in drug slang.^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024)^(SOED 2002)
+
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ The verb, to stimulate or excite by or as if by an injection, usually ''hyped up'', is from 1938, in American addicts' slang.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024)
+
+ ==Timeline==
+ * 1924 – a hypodermic injection; an addict.^(OED 1989)
+ * 1938 – to hype up.^(Barnhart 1988)
+
+ ==Modern meaning==
+ ===Noun===
+ # ''(slang)'' A hypodermic injection, syringe or needle.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)
+ # ''(slang)'' A drug addict.^(AHD)
+
+ ===Verb===
+ # ''(usually hype up)'' To stimulate or excite, as if by an injection.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)
+
+ ==Word family==
+ * [[hyped up]]
+
+ ==Related words==
+ * [[hyper-]]
+ * [[hypodermic]]
+ * [[hyperbole]]
+
+ ==Usage notes==
+ In Scots, a hype was a big, ungainly person.^(Wright 1898)
+
+ ==References==
+ {{reflist}}