[Ads-l] Further Slight Antedating of "Jeep"

[dave@wilton.net]

Very nice finds! But not all that surprising. There were all sorts of vehicles (land and air) nicknamed "jeep" in the late 1930s, just as there were a variety of "reconnaissance cars." The Bantam/Ford/Willys jeeps were relative latecomers to the name.
 
But these are certainly early instances of "jeep" being applied to this particular class of vehicle, if not the iconic brand and model.
 
-----Original Message-----
From: "Jonathan Lighter" <00001aad181a2549-dmarc-request at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Sent: Tuesday, September 1, 2026 8:56pm
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: Re: [ADS-L] Further Slight Antedating of "Jeep"



Interesting. This cannot be the Bantam/ Ford/ Willys jeep, which did
not exist before September, 1940 (acc. to Wikipedia). That vehicle
was also referred to as a "reconnaissance car."

 1940 _Sun _ (Baltimore) (Aug. 16) 6 [N.] The One Hundred and Fourth
Quartermaster Regiment is made up of 70 cargo trucks, 15
reconnaissance cars, 15 motorcycles, 29 brand-new light sedans hired
from civilian sources, and a command car familiarly known to the
soldiers as the "Jeeps" [sic].


Positively startling:

1938 _Winnipeg Tribune_ (Aug. 11) 5 [N.]: Troopers "mounted" on the
front bumper and hood of roaring reconnaissance cars, or "jeeps," were
speeded around the course.


JL

On Tue, Apr 22, 2025 at 8:01 PM dave at wilton.net <dave at wilton.net> wrote:
>
>
> I've got a bunch of early uses of "jeep" to refer to various vehicles and aircraft on my site, although none for the 1/4-ton truck as early as these.
>
> [ https://www.wordorigins.org/big-list-entries/jeep ]( https://www.wordorigins.org/big-list-entries/jeep )
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: "Jonathan Lighter" <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> Sent: Tuesday, April 22, 2025 7:20pm
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject: Re: [ADS-L] Further Slight Antedating of "Jeep"
>
>
>
> OED: Aug. 13, 1940.
>
> All from Newspapers.com.
>
> Aug. 10 may or may not refer to the 1/4-ton "jeep." The Canadian ex. is
> surprising.
>
> 1940 _Saskatoon Star-Phoenix_ (July 26) 3: Troops in "Jeeps" Make
> Impression..riding eight to a "jeep," or military truck.
>
> 1940 _Courier-Journal_ (Louisville, Ky.) (July 28) 56: Motorized since
> 1936, the battery recently got new trucks and this [large] command car,
> "The Jeep," for the staff.
>
> 1940 _Herald-News (Passaic, N.J.) (Aug. 10) 11: Other things new in the
> 44th [Infantry Division] M.P. unit [at Fort Dix] are...what the boys call
> affectionately the "jeep," a reconnaissance command car.
>
> JL
>
>
>
> On Wed, Aug 27, 2014 at 8:03 AM Shapiro, Fred <fred.shapiro at yale.edu> wrote:
>
> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > -----------------------
> > Sender: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster: "Shapiro, Fred" <fred.shapiro at YALE.EDU>
> > Subject: Further Slight Antedating of "Jeep"
> >
> > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > jeep (OED 1941, HDAS Feb. 20, 1941)
> >
> >
> >
> > 1941 _Corsicana Semi-Weekly Light_ (Corsicana, Tex.) 4 Feb. 2
> > (Newspapers.c=
> > om) All Navarro county units are now receiving ... a number of smaller
> > tru=
> > cks (now called "jeeps" or "puddle-jumpers").
> >
> >
> >
> > Fred Shapiro
> >
> > Editor
> >
> > YALE BOOK OF QUOTATIONS (Yale University Press)
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >
>
>
> --
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