When referring to GP Diesel engines, I have always pronounced the term as Jeep, but just realized that the preferred spelling for the term is Geep and I am now wondering if anyone here can tell me the way to pronounce the word. I assume the “G” is pronounced with the “J” sound? Have I been pronouncing it wrong all these years?
Geep. From the EMD of GP7, 9, etc. of first generation railroad diesel fame. Purist say GP7 or 9 only can be called Geep while it has evolved to be generic to virtually any GP model EMD produced… Jeep. From the Willys(Kaiser?)-American Motors//Chrysler of Jeep of off road WWII vehicle fame; aka Peep. A Geep is not a Jeep and a Jeep is not a Geep. And a Peep is only a Jeep of military pursuasion.
Oh, so it is pronounced Jeep then?
As far as EMD is concerned its Gee Pee, you rail fans can duke it out.
The letters GP stand for General Purpose. The original light utility army vehicle was designated as such, but when I was in the army in the early 50’s, all the paperwork spelled it Jeep.
Prounouce it anyway you want, the army doesn’t even use them anymore.
Most (but not all) English langauge usage has the letter “g” sounding close to “j” when followed by the vowels “e” and “i”, and sounding hard, the gutteral consonant from the throat, when followed by the vowels “a” and “o” or at the end of a word as a final letter. General Purpose abbrviated to Geep followes this rule.
In “gymnasium” the “Y” has an “i” sound, so the rule is followed.
We’re talking colloquealisms, vernacular, slang, branding, rock’n roll rules, railfans, United States’ English…rules of pronounciation are thrown away and another dimension of sensability takes over. GP equals “jeep” aurally; it is just quirky and natural. No need to go deeper than that here.
Thanks, everyone.
peeps!
These Peeps are the ones which went soft…don’t show this to an encrusted WWII Jeep Jockey!
Ride with me Henry notwithstanding, the rules I mentioned apply to slang as well as formal American English and are useful in teaching people whose first language is not English. Most of us have had the advantage of learning English from our birth, but we should be as kind as we can be to encourage others to use the language.
I always use the letters when using a number, such as “G. P. Thirty” for GP-30. I might refer in generic terms to a “Geep” but I never say “O that’s a Geep-Fifty”.
Although some say the name “Jeep” came from the original WW2 Army vehicles being called GP (for General Purpose) or GPW’s (in ones built by Ford), others say it came from the earlier Popeye character Eugene the Jeep, an animal that could walk up walls and do all sorts of incredible things. The WW2 vehicles could supposedly go anywhere, just like Eugene, so the soldiers nicknamed the vehicle a “Jeep”.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/7c/Popeyeeugene.jpg
Rules notwithstanding. Historic truth of GEEP. EMD produced the GP7 and everyone was calling them “Gee Pees” which lead to the term GEEP. Jeep was a four wheel drive vehicle develolped for our military during WWII. Many prime railroaders and railfans of the early 50’s were WWII vets, so it was a natural that they felt comfortable with the term. Peep was another name WWII soldiers applied to the Jeep whether was for “performance”, “persistance”, “powerful” or the not quite “beep” sound of the horn, I’m not sure, but it was as much a term of endearment for the Jeep (made by Willys and Kaiser, later through purchase of American Motors, Chrysler) as GEEP became for the GP7 by railroadres and railfans. Some will say, that strictly speaking, only GP7’s are Geeps; others will add GP9’s, It was more after the fact of second generation diesels that any GP was considered a Geep.
Henry, here are two links to “Jeep Peep.”
http://www.willys-mb.co.uk/jeep-pics.htm
http://www.privatefleet.com.au/jeep/
I have a memory of reading, about the time of WWII, a statement that a Peep was a larger Jeep.
There is a local “surplus” store that has a Willys jeep inside–but the person who made the sign on it thought that the vehicle belonged to someone named “Willy,” so the sign reads “Willy’s Jeep.” Obviously, the sign maker never heard of Willys-Overland.
Johnny,
Where’d you get the modern photos. from.
There was color film back in the day, but some are modern photo’s., especially the three Pilots!!!
Those three are not from Central Casting and they don’t look American, plus there’s discrepancies with their uniforms and the JEEP AIN’T RIGHT !
Ralph
I was in the Navy in 1945 and never heard about a ‘Peep’. There’s quite a bit about a ‘Peep’ on the internet and in the following URL, they suggest it’s a smaller jeep. Trouble with slang, it varies from place to place.
Art
My reference to Peep was from my father who was Army intellegence, Germany but said he picked it up at Pine Camp, NY, and Needles, CA., before going overseas.
Here’s a Willy’s Jeep for you, COMBAT STYLE!!!
Ralph
http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=lgwF8mdQwlw&feature=player_embedded
Nice, Ralph; they certainly did not have enough parts left over to build a motorcycle[:)].
Oh, remember, it is not Willy’s, but Willys (pronounced "willis), after John Willys, who was head of the Willys-Overland Company.
