Frank_v7.0

Lee Ayrton wrote:
> Frank_v7.0 wrote:
>> L. Ron Waddle wrote:
>>
>>> Use of the word "jeep" to describe a small four-wheel-drive general
>>> purpose military vehicle far predates any Daimler trademarks and
>>> indeed predates the use of the word to describe the civilian ******
>>> product sold in the post WWII era.
>>>
>>> In other words, if DC attempts to sue over using the word "jeep" to
>>> describe a small four-wheel-drive general purpose military vehicle,
>>> they will *lose*.
>>
>> True. I drove "jeeps" in the Army, but now I drive "Jeeps" (Liberty
>> and Wrangler). Notice how I capitalize. Definition: "jeep" "a small
>> durable motor vehicle with four wheel drive used by the armed forces.
>> [From G.P. "general purpose"]
>
> Hurm. I'm sorry, but this is a pet peeve of mine.
>
> You were doing well until that last bit in brackets. The WWII
> initialism GP -- as in GPW -- never stood for "general purpose" as is
> commonly thought, it was Ford nomenclature for "Government contract" "80
> inch wheelbase reconnaissance car" (The W referred to the ****** origin
> of the design). See a photo of the Ford manual page that documents this
> here:
> <URL:http://members.aol.com/WW2JeepMBGPW/Photos/JEEPGPnameDoc.jpg>
>
> Further, the Ford/******/Bantam 4x4 command and reconnaissance car
> wasn't referred to as a "GP" or "general purpose vehicle", but then
> neither were the other military vehicles that preceded the MB/GPW that
> were /also/ nicknamed "jeeps". This would include YB-17 prototype heavy
> bomber in 1937, the artillery tractor built by Minneapolis-Moline in
> 1937-1940, the 1940 Dodge T202 and T207 1/2-ton command car and a
> civilian one-off oil exploration rig built on a Ford base for Haliburton
> Oil Well Co in 1938 which wore the name "Jeep" on its sides for a time.
> That's a _lot_ of non-GP jeeps. See:
> <URL:http://www.geocities.com/jeeptoys/history.htm> for photos and details.
>
> From a dictionary I hold published in 1944 (making it a period cite),
> with a special section on "War Words" (notice that it covers a range of
> vehicles):
> QUOTING_____________________________________
> Jeep n. (slang) nickname for the small 1/2 ton and the smaller 1/4 ton
> command-reconnaissance car now replacing to a great extent the functions
> of the cavalry. Some army outfits distinguish between the two sizes by
> calling the smaller vehicles "peeps" and the larger ones are then called
> "jeeps." Also called jeep buggy and blitz buggy. See PEEP and SCOUT CAR.
>
> Peep n. nickname for the small 1/4 ton scout or reconnaissance military
> motor vehicle which holds and can be lifted by four men, who carry
> rifles and a machine gun. It covers rough ground rapidly and has a
> speed of sixty miles per hour on good roads. Also called bantam,
> midget, or son of a jeep. See JEEP and SCOUT CAR.
>
> Scout car n. a small, light, partially armored auto -- with great
> cross-country mobility limited only by unfavorable terrain -- employed
> by cavalry for transporting men and weapons and for reconnaissance and
> patrol; it carries five men, four machine guns and a radio sending and
> receiving set. See JEEP and PEEP.
>
> Sea jeep n. (slang) popular nickname for U.S. Army amphibious armored
> motor vehicle -- powered by a gasoline engine, carrying a crew of eight,
> and capable of operations on land and in water -- being used especially
> to force river crossings. Official name: Aqua Cheetah.
>
> UNQUOTING___________________________________
>
> And then there were the 127 USN "jeep carriers", small, slow, inelegant,
> unarmored light aircraft carriers built on merchant hull designs (or
> conversions of existing merchant hulls), none of which were called "GP"
> or "general purpose" and weren't used to transport Jeeps. See:
> <URL:http://www.navy.mil/palib/ships/carriers/cv-escrt.html>
>
> That the name Jeep is associated somehow with Seagar's Eugene the Jeep
> is undeniable and documented, although it is suggested that the word
> "jeep" may have already existed in slang as a term for anything small or
> odd. Go ahead and say that the word comes from Eugene, I won't
> complain. But please don't repeat that folklore about "General
> Purpose". It may sound good to the ear but there's no evidence for it
> and a lot of evidence against it.
>
>
Just copied it out of my dictionary :-) Second College Edition of The
American Heritage Dictionary. Copyright 1983 by Houghton Mifflin
Company. All correspondence and inquiries should be directed to:
Reference Division, Houghton Mifflin Company, Two Park Street, Boston,
MA 02108. Give 'em heck!

--
FRH

Frank_v7.0

Lee Ayrton wrote:
> Frank_v7.0 wrote:
>> Lee Ayrton wrote:
> [big snip]
>
>>> That the name Jeep is associated somehow with Seagar's Eugene the
>>> Jeep is undeniable and documented, although it is suggested that the
>>> word "jeep" may have already existed in slang as a term for anything
>>> small or odd. Go ahead and say that the word comes from Eugene, I
>>> won't complain. But please don't repeat that folklore about "General
>>> Purpose". It may sound good to the ear but there's no evidence for
>>> it and a lot of evidence against it.
>>>
>> Just copied it out of my dictionary :-) Second College Edition of The
>> American Heritage Dictionary. Copyright 1983 by Houghton Mifflin
>> Company. All correspondence and inquiries should be directed to:
>> Reference Division, Houghton Mifflin Company, Two Park Street, Boston,
>> MA 02108. Give 'em heck!
>
> Heh. The Oxford dictionary uses the "general purpose" folklore too, and
> they are generally considered the ultimate reference work. In this case
> they're wrong -- and they ignored a 1948 article from H. L. Mencken on
> GP and jeep.
>
>
>

Actually, now that you mention it, I do remember that. Cross out that
last line in my first post. :-)

--
FRH

Frank_v7.0

Lee Ayrton wrote:
> Frank_v7.0 wrote:
>> Lee Ayrton wrote:
> [big snip]
>
>>> That the name Jeep is associated somehow with Seagar's Eugene the
>>> Jeep is undeniable and documented, although it is suggested that the
>>> word "jeep" may have already existed in slang as a term for anything
>>> small or odd. Go ahead and say that the word comes from Eugene, I
>>> won't complain. But please don't repeat that folklore about "General
>>> Purpose". It may sound good to the ear but there's no evidence for
>>> it and a lot of evidence against it.
>>>
>> Just copied it out of my dictionary :-) Second College Edition of The
>> American Heritage Dictionary. Copyright 1983 by Houghton Mifflin
>> Company. All correspondence and inquiries should be directed to:
>> Reference Division, Houghton Mifflin Company, Two Park Street, Boston,
>> MA 02108. Give 'em heck!
>
> Heh. The Oxford dictionary uses the "general purpose" folklore too, and
> they are generally considered the ultimate reference work. In this case
> they're wrong -- and they ignored a 1948 article from H. L. Mencken on
> GP and jeep.
>
>
>

Actually, now that you mention it, I do remember that. Cross out that
last line in my first post. :-)

--
FRH

Frank_v7.0

Lee Ayrton wrote:
> Frank_v7.0 wrote:
>> Lee Ayrton wrote:
> [big snip]
>
>>> That the name Jeep is associated somehow with Seagar's Eugene the
>>> Jeep is undeniable and documented, although it is suggested that the
>>> word "jeep" may have already existed in slang as a term for anything
>>> small or odd. Go ahead and say that the word comes from Eugene, I
>>> won't complain. But please don't repeat that folklore about "General
>>> Purpose". It may sound good to the ear but there's no evidence for
>>> it and a lot of evidence against it.
>>>
>> Just copied it out of my dictionary :-) Second College Edition of The
>> American Heritage Dictionary. Copyright 1983 by Houghton Mifflin
>> Company. All correspondence and inquiries should be directed to:
>> Reference Division, Houghton Mifflin Company, Two Park Street, Boston,
>> MA 02108. Give 'em heck!
>
> Heh. The Oxford dictionary uses the "general purpose" folklore too, and
> they are generally considered the ultimate reference work. In this case
> they're wrong -- and they ignored a 1948 article from H. L. Mencken on
> GP and jeep.
>
>
>

Actually, now that you mention it, I do remember that. Cross out that
last line in my first post. :-)

--
FRH

Lee Ayrton

Frank_v7.0 wrote:
> Lee Ayrton wrote:
[big snip]

>> That the name Jeep is associated somehow with Seagar's Eugene the Jeep
>> is undeniable and documented, although it is suggested that the word
>> "jeep" may have already existed in slang as a term for anything small
>> or odd. Go ahead and say that the word comes from Eugene, I won't
>> complain. But please don't repeat that folklore about "General
>> Purpose". It may sound good to the ear but there's no evidence for it
>> and a lot of evidence against it.
>>
> Just copied it out of my dictionary :-) Second College Edition of The
> American Heritage Dictionary. Copyright 1983 by Houghton Mifflin
> Company. All correspondence and inquiries should be directed to:
> Reference Division, Houghton Mifflin Company, Two Park Street, Boston,
> MA 02108. Give 'em heck!

Heh. The Oxford dictionary uses the "general purpose" folklore too, and
they are generally considered the ultimate reference work. In this case
they're wrong -- and they ignored a 1948 article from H. L. Mencken on
GP and jeep.

Lee Ayrton

Frank_v7.0 wrote:
> Lee Ayrton wrote:
[big snip]

>> That the name Jeep is associated somehow with Seagar's Eugene the Jeep
>> is undeniable and documented, although it is suggested that the word
>> "jeep" may have already existed in slang as a term for anything small
>> or odd. Go ahead and say that the word comes from Eugene, I won't
>> complain. But please don't repeat that folklore about "General
>> Purpose". It may sound good to the ear but there's no evidence for it
>> and a lot of evidence against it.
>>
> Just copied it out of my dictionary :-) Second College Edition of The
> American Heritage Dictionary. Copyright 1983 by Houghton Mifflin
> Company. All correspondence and inquiries should be directed to:
> Reference Division, Houghton Mifflin Company, Two Park Street, Boston,
> MA 02108. Give 'em heck!

Heh. The Oxford dictionary uses the "general purpose" folklore too, and
they are generally considered the ultimate reference work. In this case
they're wrong -- and they ignored a 1948 article from H. L. Mencken on
GP and jeep.

Lee Ayrton

Frank_v7.0 wrote:
> Lee Ayrton wrote:
[big snip]

>> That the name Jeep is associated somehow with Seagar's Eugene the Jeep
>> is undeniable and documented, although it is suggested that the word
>> "jeep" may have already existed in slang as a term for anything small
>> or odd. Go ahead and say that the word comes from Eugene, I won't
>> complain. But please don't repeat that folklore about "General
>> Purpose". It may sound good to the ear but there's no evidence for it
>> and a lot of evidence against it.
>>
> Just copied it out of my dictionary :-) Second College Edition of The
> American Heritage Dictionary. Copyright 1983 by Houghton Mifflin
> Company. All correspondence and inquiries should be directed to:
> Reference Division, Houghton Mifflin Company, Two Park Street, Boston,
> MA 02108. Give 'em heck!

Heh. The Oxford dictionary uses the "general purpose" folklore too, and
they are generally considered the ultimate reference work. In this case
they're wrong -- and they ignored a 1948 article from H. L. Mencken on
GP and jeep.