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

[Jonathan Lighter]

Startling that the first "reconnaissance cars" to be called "jeeps"
were Canadian.

JL

On Wed, Sep 2, 2026 at 6:43 AM dave at wilton.net <dave at wilton.net> wrote:
>
>
> 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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>
>
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"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."

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