The relationship between the historic and contemporary slang simp is unclear, but we can’t rule out connections-or at least associations-between the two terms.

Then there’s simp as a short form of simpleton (a fool), which was first recorded all the way back in the early 1900s. For instance, on Ice-T’s 1987 “Our Most Requested Record ,” DJ Evil E raps: “Taking out all simps and suckers …” Urban Dictionary entries in the early 2000–2010s also use simp in this way, with some of them maintaining that simp is a blend of sissy and pimp. Hip-hop lyrics from the late 1980s and 1990s were already using simp as an insult for a men perceived as too subservient to a woman. The internet teen slang simp, as is true of many slang terms that go mainstream, appears to come directly from Black hip-hop slang-and it’s older than you may think.

It’s popularly claimed that the internet slang simp is an acronym for “Suckers Idolizing Mediocre Pussy.” But, as usual, the story of simp isn’t so simple. The slang simp appeared to come out of nowhere in 2019–20.

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