Hip Hip Hooray
Encyclopedia
Hip Hip Hooray is a cheering
called out to express praise or approbation toward someone or something, in the English speaking
world. By a sole speaker, it is a form of interjection
. In a group, it takes the form of call and response
: the cheer is initiated by one person exclaiming "Three cheers for...[someone or something]" (or, more archaically, "Three times three"), then calling out "Hip Hip" (archaically, "Hip Hip Hip") three times, each time being responded by "Hooray".
. It has been suggested that the word "Hip" stems from a medieval Latin
acronym, "Hierosylma Est Perdita", meaning "Jerusalem is lost", a term that gained notoriety in the German Hep hep riots. Another claim is that the Europeans picked up the Mongol exclamation "hooray" as an enthusiastic cry of bravado and mutual encouragement, according to Jack Weatherford's book Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World.
Cheering
Cheering is the uttering or making of sounds encouraging, stimulating or exciting to action, indicating approval or acclaiming or welcoming persons, announcements of events and the like....
called out to express praise or approbation toward someone or something, in the English speaking
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
world. By a sole speaker, it is a form of interjection
Interjection
In grammar, an interjection or exclamation is a word used to express an emotion or sentiment on the part of the speaker . Filled pauses such as uh, er, um are also considered interjections...
. In a group, it takes the form of call and response
Call and response
Call and response is a form of "spontaneous verbal and non-verbal interaction between speaker and listener in which all of the statements are punctuated by expressions from the listener."...
: the cheer is initiated by one person exclaiming "Three cheers for...[someone or something]" (or, more archaically, "Three times three"), then calling out "Hip Hip" (archaically, "Hip Hip Hip") three times, each time being responded by "Hooray".
History
The call was recorded in England in the beginning of the 19th century in connection with making a toastToast (honor)
A toast is a ritual in which a drink is taken as an expression of honor or goodwill. The term may be applied to the person or thing so honored, the drink taken, or the verbal expression accompanying the drink. Thus, a person could be "the toast of the evening," for whom someone "proposes a toast"...
. It has been suggested that the word "Hip" stems from a medieval Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
acronym, "Hierosylma Est Perdita", meaning "Jerusalem is lost", a term that gained notoriety in the German Hep hep riots. Another claim is that the Europeans picked up the Mongol exclamation "hooray" as an enthusiastic cry of bravado and mutual encouragement, according to Jack Weatherford's book Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World.