When referring to GP Diesel engines, I have always pronounced the term as Jeep, but just realized that the preferred spelling for the term is Geep and I am now wondering if anyone here can tell me the way to pronounce the word. I assume the "G" is pronounced with the "J" sound? Have I been pronouncing it wrong all these years?
Geep. From the EMD of GP7, 9, etc. of first generation railroad diesel fame. Purist say GP7 or 9 only can be called Geep while it has evolved to be generic to virtually any GP model EMD produced.. Jeep. From the Willys(Kaiser?)-American Motors//Chrysler of Jeep of off road WWII vehicle fame; aka Peep. A Geep is not a Jeep and a Jeep is not a Geep. And a Peep is only a Jeep of military pursuasion.
RIDEWITHMEHENRY is the name for our almost monthly day of riding trains and transit in either the NYCity or Philadelphia areas including all commuter lines, Amtrak, subways, light rail and trolleys, bus and ferries when warranted. No fees, just let us know you want to join the ride and pay your fares. Ask to be on our email list or find us on FB as RIDEWITHMEHENRY (all caps) to get descriptions of each outing.
Oh, so it is pronounced Jeep then?
As far as EMD is concerned its Gee Pee, you rail fans can duke it out.
The letters GP stand for General Purpose. The original light utility army vehicle was designated as such, but when I was in the army in the early 50's, all the paperwork spelled it Jeep.
Prounouce it anyway you want, the army doesn't even use them anymore.
Most (but not all) English langauge usage has the letter "g" sounding close to "j" when followed by the vowels "e" and "i", and sounding hard, the gutteral consonant from the throat, when followed by the vowels "a" and "o" or at the end of a word as a final letter. General Purpose abbrviated to Geep followes this rule.
In "gymnasium" the "Y" has an "i" sound, so the rule is followed.
We're talking colloquealisms, vernacular, slang, branding, rock'n roll rules, railfans, United States' English...rules of pronounciation are thrown away and another dimension of sensability takes over. GP equals "jeep" aurally; it is just quirky and natural. No need to go deeper than that here.
Thanks, everyone.
peeps!
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
These Peeps are the ones which went soft....don't show this to an encrusted WWII Jeep Jockey!
BaltACD peeps!
Ride with me Henry notwithstanding, the rules I mentioned apply to slang as well as formal American English and are useful in teaching people whose first language is not English. Most of us have had the advantage of learning English from our birth, but we should be as kind as we can be to encourage others to use the language.
I always use the letters when using a number, such as "G. P. Thirty" for GP-30. I might refer in generic terms to a "Geep" but I never say "O that's a Geep-Fifty".
Although some say the name "Jeep" came from the original WW2 Army vehicles being called GP (for General Purpose) or GPW's (in ones built by Ford), others say it came from the earlier Popeye character Eugene the Jeep, an animal that could walk up walls and do all sorts of incredible things. The WW2 vehicles could supposedly go anywhere, just like Eugene, so the soldiers nicknamed the vehicle a "Jeep".
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/7c/Popeyeeugene.jpg
Rules notwithstanding. Historic truth of GEEP. EMD produced the GP7 and everyone was calling them "Gee Pees" which lead to the term GEEP. Jeep was a four wheel drive vehicle develolped for our military during WWII. Many prime railroaders and railfans of the early 50's were WWII vets, so it was a natural that they felt comfortable with the term. Peep was another name WWII soldiers applied to the Jeep whether was for "performance", "persistance", "powerful" or the not quite "beep" sound of the horn, I'm not sure, but it was as much a term of endearment for the Jeep (made by Willys and Kaiser, later through purchase of American Motors, Chrysler) as GEEP became for the GP7 by railroadres and railfans. Some will say, that strictly speaking, only GP7's are Geeps; others will add GP9's, It was more after the fact of second generation diesels that any GP was considered a Geep.
Henry, here are two links to "Jeep Peep."
http://www.willys-mb.co.uk/jeep-pics.htm
http://www.privatefleet.com.au/jeep/
I have a memory of reading, about the time of WWII, a statement that a Peep was a larger Jeep.
There is a local "surplus" store that has a Willys jeep inside--but the person who made the sign on it thought that the vehicle belonged to someone named "Willy," so the sign reads "Willy's Jeep." Obviously, the sign maker never heard of Willys-Overland.
Johnny
Johnny,
Where'd you get the modern photos. from.
There was color film back in the day, but some are modern photo's., especially the three Pilots!!!!!
Those three are not from Central Casting and they don't look American, plus there's discrepancies with their uniforms and the JEEP AIN'T RIGHT !
Ralph
I was in the Navy in 1945 and never heard about a 'Peep'. There's quite a bit about a 'Peep' on the internet and in the following URL, they suggest it's a smaller jeep. Trouble with slang, it varies from place to place.
http://www.google.com/search?source=ig&hl=en&rlz=1G1GGLQ_ENUS362&q=a+wwii+peep&btnG=Google+Search&aq=f&oq=
Art
My reference to Peep was from my father who was Army intellegence, Germany but said he picked it up at Pine Camp, NY, and Needles, CA., before going overseas.
Here's a Willy's Jeep for you, COMBAT STYLE!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=lgwF8mdQwlw&feature=player_embedded
Train-O Here's a Willy's Jeep for you, COMBAT STYLE!!!! Ralph http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=lgwF8mdQwlw&feature=player_embedded
Oh, remember, it is not Willy's, but Willys (pronounced "willis), after John Willys, who was head of the Willys-Overland Company.
http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2089273190100514195AJEWts
You are correct in the spelling, John.
Nice photos., John and wanswheel.
Riding the rails, is probably why a Jeep's wheel base is narrower, than a passenger car's.
Those, Jeeps flip over at high speeds and sharp turns, more so, than a passenger car.
Oh man, now I want an HO military Jeep with train wheels for my layout.
Train-O You are correct in the spelling, John. Nice photos., John and wanswheel. Riding the rails, is probably why a Jeep's wheel base is narrower, than a passenger car's. Those, Jeeps flip over at high speeds and sharp turns, more so, than a passenger car. Ralph
No. The original jeep was designed by and built the American Bantam Car Company. This company was associated with the British Austin Motor Company. Both companies made smaller cars than was usual in America..
The military specification that resulted in the jeep had a maximum weight requirement. A larger vehicle would have been unlikely to come close to the specified weight. Even the Bantam while close was overweight. Both Willys and Ford designs were close copies of the Bantam. Eventually a evolved Willys design was standardized.
The narrow width made for easier for conversion to rail on the narrow gauge railroads in the Far East, but that was not the reason for the design. A jeep converted to run on standard gauge looks very strange because the wheels really stick out.
I tried to sell my two cents worth, but no one would give me a plug nickel for it.
I don't have a leg to stand on.
DSchmitt,
Thank you for clearing that up.
I did not know the Jeep originally had larger proportions and originally was built by other, than Willys.
You are correct. Looking at the photo., that track is of a narrow gauge.
Train-O Johnny, Where'd you get the modern photos. from. There was color film back in the day, but some are modern photo's., especially the three Pilots!!!!! Those three are not from Central Casting and they don't look American, plus there's discrepancies with their uniforms and the JEEP AIN'T RIGHT ! Ralph
I searched around and found the same site.
It's neat the way they did the photo. shoots, but they shouldn't say that they're original WWII photos.
There are some original WWII photos., but not the three Pilots, not their so called, Fugazi looking, uniforms and not the Jeep behind them.
I believe, it is a newer Jeep, built more recently.
But, I guess they want to make a sale, as other businesses do, especially in the old days, when there were more freedoms.
I have to disagree, except for the upper pics which are noted as modern, the other pics appear to all be genuine from the period of the forties. Europeans and European Americans look pretty much the same, so not sure why these guys don't look "American"??
http://www.willys-mb.co.uk/images/military-jeep.jpg
My older brother was a B26 (Martin Marauder) co-pilot and had a leather jacket similar to the one the middle fellow has on in the picture. I have color photos of me in my Navy uniform.
Stix,
I'm going to concede to you, my friend.
Art,
Did your brother's jacket have the large U.S.A.A.F. patch on the left front area, or a smaller one on the left sleeve, up by the shoulder?
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