Jeep: Where Did This Odd Word Come From?

It has been widely debated as to where the word ‘jeep’ came from, and it is no easy task to locate the truth. The general consensus is that the assignation ‘GP’, standing for ‘General Purpose’, is its origin; with the phonetic conjoining of the consonants with ease of effort adding a couple of vowels and changing the first letter, ending up with ‘jeep’.

In contradiction to this theory, R. Lee Ermey contends that the jeep was intended to be used towards more particular ends. He believes that the jeep was not intended for general purpose, but rather that its modern name originated from Ford; the ‘G’ indicating government use, and the ‘P’ the vehicles eighty inch wheel base. He claims that it is from these assignations that the ‘nickname’ jeep has been derived.

The confusion was thickened when a locomotive manufacturer, in 1949; the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors, jumped on the moving train of popular terminology by coining its ‘General Purpose’ line by the phonetically, but not grammatically, identical ‘Geep’.

To try and identify the etymology of the word jeep, Ermy hypothesised that the word had derived from ‘Eugene the Jeep’ – a versatile character from the Popeye comics who could climb up trees, fly in the air, walk up walls and through ceilings, and transcend any terrain it wanted. The theory forwards the idea that military officers, in admiration of the vehicle’s commendable maneuverability, gave the comic character’s name to it.

The first use of the word ‘jeep’ appears to have been during the First World War. Soldiers would assign it to vehicles and recruits who were new to the army. In the U.S Army magazine the ‘Quartermaster Review’, Maj. E. P. Hogan told that these assignations were even in use during the Second World War.

‘Jeep’ became a common name for tractors and planes. It was adopted by the company ‘Modine’ for their tractor. The unnamed vehicle was sent to Camp Holabird for testing and the name ‘jeep’ was assigned to it by officers there. The confusion over its origin perhaps came about as engineers were unaware of the military slang ‘jeep’, and so assumed that the nickname came from the Popeye comic strip. In 1941 the vehicle was driven up the steps of the United States capital by Irving ‘Red’ Haussman to show its versatility on terrain. The newspapers quoted him as naming it a ‘jeep’. He had spent time at Fort Holabird and this is probably where he had picked up the term. The entire nation had this terminology placed in front of them with their morning coffee, and from then on in it has been the only name for the 4x4 all terrain vehicles.

So, when you jump in your Jeep and start it up, remember that you now know a little bit more about your loyal vehicle than a lot of other people who have loved them for years. Maybe you can make your friends more aware with this little bit of knowledge or maybe you can just use it to impress them!