pip

Etymology 1

From Middle English pippe, from Middle Dutch pip, from post-classical Latin pipita, from Latin pītuīta (“mucus, phlegm, head cold”). Doublet of pituita.

noun

1. Any of various respiratory diseases in birds, especially infectious coryza.
2. (humorous, dated) Of humans, a disease, malaise or depression.
   1912, D. H. Lawrence, letter to Edward Garnett I've got the pip horribly at present.
   Fer, as the poit sez, me 'eart 'as got / The pip wiv yearnin' fer - I dunno wot. 1915, C.J. Dennis, The Songs of the Sentimental Bloke, published 1916, page 13
   With this deal Uncle Tom's got on with Homer Cream, it would be fatal to risk giving [Mrs Cream] the pip in any way. 1960, P. G. Wodehouse, Jeeves in the Offing, chapter IV

Etymology 2

Apparently representing a shortened form of pippin, from Middle English pipin, from Old French pepin (“a seed”) (French pépin).

noun

1. (obsolete) A pippin, seed of any kind.
   1. (UK) A seed inside certain fleshy fruits (compare stone/pit), such as a peach, orange, or apple.
      On most of the shores of the ancient Mediterranean, before any historical record, the cultivated grape vine, Vitis vinifera Linn., was grown. Its relationship to the wild vine of Eurasia, Vitis silvestris Gmel., is uncertain. Its pips can mostly be distinguished from those of the wild vine, and have been found in Egypt and Syrian Hama from the fourth millennium BC, at Lachish and Jericho in the early Bronze, at Troy II during the Bronze, in the Peloponnesus from Early Helladic, in Crete from the Early Minoan. 1995, John Pairman Brown, Israel and Hellas (Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft; 231), volume 1, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, page 134
      Apple pips are edible, but don't have a pleasant taste.
2. (US, colloquial) Something or someone excellent, of high quality.
   She sure is a pip, that one. You need company? 2006, Thomas Pynchon, Against the Day, Vintage, published 2007, page 612
3. (Britain, dated, World War I, signalese) P in RAF phonetic alphabet.

verb

1. (transitive) To remove the pips from.
   Peel and pip the grapes.

Etymology 3

Origin uncertain; perhaps related to Etymology 2, above.

noun

1. One of the spots or symbols on a playing card, domino, die, etc.
2. (military, public service) One of the stylised version of the Bath star worn on the shoulder of a uniform to denote rank, e.g. of a soldier or a fireman.
3. A spot; a speck.
4. A spot of light or an inverted V indicative of a return of radar waves reflected from an object; a blip.
5. A piece of rhizome with a dormant shoot of the lily of the valley plant, used for propagation

verb

1. To get the better of; to defeat by a narrow margin.
   He led throughout the race but was pipped at the post.
   Arteta faced much scrutiny after Spurs pipped the Gunners to Champions League football on the final day of last season, with opposite number Conte deservedly hailed for the transformation he had overseen in just a few months at the helm. October 1 2022, Phil McNulty, “Arsenal 3-1 Tottenham: Gunners show identity & direction in outstanding derby win”, in BBC Sport
   Some 28 percent said he was the best performer, pipping DeSantis by one point August 24 2023, Rob Crilly, “Vivek Ramaswamy beats Ron DeSantis for best performance AND tops Donald Trump as the 'real winner' in poll of the Republican debate”, in Daily Mail
2. To hit with a gunshot.
   The hunter managed to pip three ducks from his blind.

Etymology 4

Imitative.

verb

1. To peep, to chirp
2. (ornithology) To make the initial hole during the process of hatching from an egg

Etymology 5

Imitative.

noun

1. One of a series of very short, electronically produced tones, used, for example, to count down the final few seconds before a given time or to indicate that a caller using a payphone needs to make further payment to continue the call.
   I could clearly hear the frequent cataclysms of the upstairs lavatory, and my day began with the pips for the morning news in Charlotte Lawless's kitchen. 1982, John Banville, The Newton Letter

Etymology 6

Abbreviation of percentage in point.

noun

1. (finance, currency trading) The smallest price increment between two currencies in foreign exchange (forex) trading.
   The set-and-forget trader is playing fundamental direction and is seeking very large moves of 150 to 300 pips. This trader doesn't want to sit and watch the screen but play the longer moves and forces behind forex. 2015, Abe Cofnas, “Trading Styles and Strategies”, in The Forex Trading Course: A Self-study Guide to Becoming a Successful Currency Trader, 2nd edition, Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons, part II (Timing the Trade with Technical Analysis), page 157