hippity-hop
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English[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
Etymology 1[edit]
Compound of *hippity + hop, in turn from hip (a regional variant of hop) + -ety. Attested since the middle nineteenth century, with hippity-hoppity appearing somewhat earlier.
Adjective[edit]
hippity-hop (comparative more hippity-hop, superlative most hippity-hop)
- (childish) Moving by hopping, having an uneven gait.
- 1987, G. Bennett, Birdfinding in Canada[1], page 21:
- There must be hundreds of them killed every summer day - and, it's no wonder when one observes the erratic, hippity-hop way they try to cross the road.
- (figurative) Proceeding through uneven stages.
- 1976, Bill Hosokawa, Thunder in the Rockies: The Incredible Denver Post, page 133:
- In 1927, when United Air Lines began service over a hippity-hop route between San Francisco and Chicago, Cheyenne again rather than Denver was picked as a stop.
Adverb[edit]
hippity-hop (not comparable)
- (childish) Unevenly, with a hopping gait.
- 1857, John Edward Taylor, “The Wild Man”, in The Fairy Ring: A Collection of Tales and Traditions, Translated from the German of Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, page 101:
- So he mounted the horse, which went hippity-hop, hippity-hop.
- 1938, Elizabeth Baker, Language Journeys with our Friends, page 109:
- Which show how the tortoise moved? hopped / waddled / scampered / scurried / plodded / ran hippity-hop / took one slow step after another
Usage notes[edit]
- Frequently used with the verb go: "He went hippity-hop all the way down the hill."
Noun[edit]
hippity-hop (plural hippity-hops)
Verb[edit]
hippity-hop (third-person singular simple present hippity-hops, present participle hippity-hopping, simple past and past participle hippity-hopped)
- (childish) to hop.