hip hip hooray

English

Alternative forms

• hip hip hoorah
• hip hip hurrah

Etymology

Recorded as far back as 1803. The word hip was in use then as a meaningless syllable to get someone's attention. Hooray (or hurrah) goes back to 1686, and also had no specific meaning, used instead to get a person's attention.

A folk etymology for this interjection suggests it comes from the anti-Semitic 1819 German Hep-Hep riots, however many examples of "Hip Hip" exist in English prior to 1819, for example:

• 1813, Edmond Temple, The Life of Pill Garlick‎^[1], London, page 243:

  The first toast “Success to Pill Garlick lick and his saucy crew,” was drank with nine times nine, hip! hip! hip! and a hoorra! The tumult was excessive.

Interjection

hip hip hooray

1. An exclamation of congratulations or celebration, especially in response to a call for "three cheers for" the person. Often the person calling for the cheers will yell "Hip! Hip!", the crowd replying "Hooray!"

Translations

an exclamation of congratulations

• Arabic: مَرْحَى! (marḥā!)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 万岁！万岁！万万岁！

• Czech: hip, hip, hurá
• Dutch: hieperdepiep hoera, hiep hiep hoera
• French: hip hip hip hourra
• German: hipp, hipp, hurra (de)
• Italian: hip hip hip urrà, hip hip hip hurrà
• Norwegian: hipp hipp hurra
• Polish: hip, hip, hurra
• Portuguese: hip hip hurra
• Russian: гип-ги́п ура́ (gip-gíp urá), гип-ги́п-ура́ (ru) (gip-gíp-urá)
• Spanish: hip hip hurra
• Swedish: hipp hipp hurra

See also

• three cheers