Origin and history of hop

hop(v.1)

Old English hoppian "to spring, leap; to dance; to limp," from Proto-Germanic *hupnojan (source also of Old Norse hoppa "hop, skip," Dutch huppen, German hüpfen "to hop"). Transitive sense from 1791. Related: Hopped; hopping.

Hopping mad is from 1670s. Hopping-John "stew of bacon with rice and peas" is attested from 1832; in early references it is considered to be the same as jambalaya, and food historian Anthony Buccini proposes it to derive from a folk etymology of jambalaya as coming from Creole Jan bale, "dancing John."

hop(n.1)

usually hops, type of twining vine whose cones are used in brewing, etc., mid-15c., from Middle Dutch hoppe "the hop plant," from Proto-Germanic *hupnan- (source also of Old Saxon -hoppo, German Hopfen), of uncertain origin, perhaps from PIE root *(s)keup- "cluster, tuft, hair of the head," for its "tuftlike inflorescence." Medieval Latin hupa, Old French hoppe, French houblon are from Dutch.

also from mid-15c.

hop(n.2)

"opium," 1887, from Cantonese nga-pin (pronounced HAH-peen) "opium," a Chinese folk etymology of the English word opium, literally "crow peelings." Re-folk-etymologized back into English by association with hop (n.1).

also from 1887

hop(n.3)

"a small jump, a leap on one foot," c. 1500, from hop (v.). Slang sense of "informal dancing party" is from 1731 (defined by Johnson as "a place where meaner people dance"). Meaning "short flight on an aircraft" is from 1909. Hop, skip, and jump (n.) is recorded from 1760 (hop, step, and jump from 1719).

This word [ hop] has always been used here as in England as a familiar term for dance; but of late years it has been employed among us in a technical sense, to denote a dance where there is less display and ceremony than at regular balls. [Bartlett, "Dictionary of Americanisms," 1848]

also from c. 1500

hop(v.2)

"treat with hops," 1570s (implied in hopped), from hop (n.1).

also from 1570s

Entries linking to hop

jambalaya(n.)

1849, where it is considered identical with the dish called Hopping Johnny (see Hopping-john under hop (v.1)) and made with chicken and rice. It is usually agreed to be from Provençal French dialect jambaraia, jambalaia, although the food is attested in English before it is attested in the Provençal. Some have tried to show derivations from African or Arabic words, but these propositions lack attestations in the original languages or else tend to require nonsensical word combinations.

It is likely to be a variant of an older Provençal dish called jambinetto or jambineta, a name sometimes said to derive from the use of poultry feet (French jamb "leg;" see jamb), but other etymologies link it to a dialectal word cognate with giblet.

The word in 19c. French could also mean "a rabble; a mish-mash." Compare jumble.

bellhop(n.)

also bell-hop, "attendant in a hotel who carries guests' luggage and performs other services," by 1906, American English, shortening of slang bellhopper (1899), from bell (n.) + hop (v.). The notion is one who "hops" into action when the bell is rung.