Friday, February 16, 2018

Merriam-Webster Word of the Day - Yuppify


WORD OF THE DAY
February 16, 2018
 
 

 
 
 
yuppify Audio pronunciation
 
verb | YUP-uh-fye  
 
Definition
 
:
to make appealing to yuppies; also : to infuse with the qualities or values of yuppies
 
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Did You Know?
 
Yuppie and yuppify are products of the 1980s, but they owe a debt to predecessors from decades prior. Hippie (referring to a long-haired, unconventionally dressed young person who rejects societal mores; from hip, meaning "cool") first appeared in print in the 1950s. Yippie (naming a politically active hippie; from Youth International Party) followed hippie a decade later. Gentrification and gentrify (both of which have to do with the effects of influxes of relatively affluent people into deteriorating neighborhoods; from gentry) then evolved. Yuppie (pointing out a young well-paid professional who lives and works in or near an urban area; probably from young urban professional, influenced by hippie and yippie) hit the press in the early 1980s, bringing along yuppify and yuppification (patterned after gentrify and gentrification).
 
 
Examples of YUPPIFY
 
My sister rents an expensive apartment in a neighborhood that was recently yuppified.
 
"In those days, Surry Hills was a working-class suburb, and while its northern edges have been yuppified, the southern end around Cleveland Street maintains a vestige of the old feel."
Ean Higgins, The Australian, 31 July 2017
 
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