The Last "Mohican"?

[Benjamin Zimmer]

On Wed, 10 Aug 2005 15:40:55 -0400, Benjamin Zimmer
<bgzimmer at RCI.RUTGERS.EDU> wrote:

>HDAS cites "Rapper's Delight" from 1979: "Drive off in a def OJ." The OED
>draft entry chooses to transcribe the line as "death OJ" and puts the cite
>in brackets.

Whoops, I missed this helpful etymological note in the draft entry:

-----
[Prob. alteration of DEATH n., originating in the non-standard Jamaican
English pronunciation and spelling _def_, and the use of the word (in both
forms) as a general intensifier (see quot. 1907). Cf. DEATH a.2
  The form in quot. 1979 is often interpreted as being a use of DEF a.,
and is in fact spelt _def_ in many later transcriptions of the song,
including that in L. A. Stanley _Rap: the Lyrics_ (1992). However, in
the original published lyrics, the word is spelt _death_, although the
pronunciation on the recording itself is indistinct. This song, one of
the most celebrated and influential hip-hop records and one of the first
to enjoy international commercial success, may in part account for the
enduring use of _def_ within the genre and the strength of its
association with hip-hop culture.
  An alternative derivation < DEFINITE a. or DEFINITIVE a. seems less
likely, but see the form _def'_ in quot. 1982.]
-----


--Ben Zimmer