peeps

[Benjamin Zimmer]

On 3/8/06, Jesse Sheidlower <jester at panix.com> wrote:
>
> On Wed, Mar 08, 2006 at 10:43:16AM -0500, George Thompson wrote:
> > A day or so ago, JL sent us a farrago of current street talk.  I noted
> > with interest the appearance in it of the word "peep" -- I assume
> > shortening of "people"?  I don't see the word in the OED.
>
> It is in OED; you have to look under _peeps_ pl. We have it from
> 1973, but have since found a 1951 example.

Would that be this vocative example?
http://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0510A&L=ADS-L&P=R1344

I also posted a number of 19th-century cites for "peeps" = "people",
the earliest of which is from 1847:
http://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0509D&L=ADS-L&P=24775


--Ben Zimmer

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