<p>As I said, and I'll say it again: the only "true" meaning of a word is its use, not its etymology. The etymology is that preppy is associated with an extravagant lifestyle, and is in fact derived from it. But its current use among teenagers -- in public schools, mainly -- denotes the "popular kids."</p>
<p>I have never heard prep used as a term for the "popular kids."</p>
<p>
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By that definition, there are very, very few preppies out there (in comparison to the total # teenagers)
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</p>
<p>There are very few preps. Where I'm from, the definition amongst us is as I stated -- it is how it used. An </p>
<p>Given this, the "true" meaning for me is that as that is how I and everyone in my area use it. However, I suppose since public school individuals use it differently then it is relative.</p>
<p>Public schools are more common, right? So the term would be more commonly used to denote "popular kids." This is, of course, assuming that all or most public schools have this characteristic and use the word this way.</p>
<p>Yeah, good point.</p>
<p>I doubt all -- however maybe most -- public schools use it the same. That, of course, could be a result of geographics and income level.</p>
<p>I am positive students at Greenwich High School, generally speaking, use the word differently than what the common public student has come to believe the word "preppy" to mean.</p>
<p>Hmm...</p>
<p>Well, when public school kids in New York City use the word (as I'm sure they do) you know they must be using it to denote something a little different from the kids in Greenwich. But, I can't, for the life of me, tell you what that is. :p</p>
<p>Just because a bunch of teenagers choose to misuse a word, doesn't mean that their definition is now to be accepted as the correct one.</p>
<p>That's like saying that "they're", "their", and "there" are interchangable, because that's how most high school students use them, and the majority is always right.</p>
<p>"Well, that obviously isn't accurate. By that definition, there are very, very few preppies out there (in comparison to the total # teenagers), and if that were true, the word "preppy" wouldn't be so prevalent across the country in public schools."</p>
<p>But it is true. Ask anyone over the age of 30 for their definition of the word, and it will probably be exactly as described in #17. </p>
<p>That said, you're right. There aren't many true preps in public California high schools. But that's not to say that they're non-existant (especially on the East Coast, where J.Crew is still alive and thriving for some kids). The reason why you hear the word so much is because some brilliant mind decided to spread the word around with a false definition attached and it caught on.</p>
<p>What? No, that is a completely different situation, because that's orthography and not semantics. And sorry to break it to you, but words change through misuse. Examine the currently recorded definitions of the word "height," courtesy of dictionary.com:</p>
<p>You'll notice, at the bottom, before the definition, it says, "Archaic." Certain denotations slowly fall out of use, often because the word has a new relevance in society, or, as I said, because people misuse the word. Thus, it undergoes a transformation, gradually. This happens with countless words; just doing a google search of the word "archaic" yields over 12,000 results:</p>
<p>In this instance, the word "preppy" comes from "preparatory," as in an expensive preparatory school to which many upper/upper-middle class children are sent. Though nice it is to know the origin of the word, it helps us little in communication with others. For example, how will knowing that the root of "fortune" is fort-, meaning chance, help you when communicating with others? It probably won't, because "fortune" has taken on a meaning with which speakers will identify and that's the mutual "agreement" of language. Of course, the boundaries of language are far from sturdy, and thus comes evolution of language. You can't confine language to box of prescriptive rules. It's been tried, and all you get is a bunch of pedants attempting to make English look like Latin ("Don't split infinitives!" and the like). Hell, English was once highly variable in word order, but has long since become more rigid and stiff in syntax. Languages evolve, and no amount of determination in the minds of today's most staunch grammarians is going to stop it from doing so. The case of "preppy" here is a perfect example of such diachronic change, and regardless of your attitude toward those "bunch of teenagers," the word has changed in meaning to the general population -- at least within a given culture of the population. But that is neither here nor there.</p>
<p>Sorry, unalove, for going on a boring, laborious explanation, but as you can see, language and words are something I'm rather vehement about (yes, that's a preposition at the end of my sentence). =]</p>
<p>"But it is true. Ask anyone over the age of 30 for their definition of the word, and it will probably be exactly as described in #17."</p>
<p>As I explained above, those over the age of 30 are probably outnumbered by today's youth, who more than likely have a different definition of the word (evolution, I say). Language changes with time and culture.</p>
<p>"But that's not to say that they're non-existant ..."</p>
<p>And no matter how many times people misspell "existent," you see, it's still going to be "existent," because that's something more easily controlled than semantics (you don't spell when you speak, but meaning is always there when you use language).</p>
<p>Sorry for the double-post.</p>
<p>At my high school, preppy is definitely reserved for the A list people, however they dress. No one at my high school dresses in polos or other defining traits of old school preppy.</p>
<p>^^ same here.</p>
<p>Fair enough. It happens, but I don't like it, and wish they would go back to the original meaning. Ehh..I reserve the right to be bitter about it. </p>
<p>I myself am into the J.Crew look, and it kind of ****es me off that they stole the word and turned it into something negative.</p>
<p>Okay? They block p i s s but not damn?</p>
<p>Yeah I definitely agree with you world changer.</p>
<p>It's wierd...I have honestly NEVER heard of preppy being used as a word to label the "cool people." It has always been used in the traditional sense by people I know. <em>shrug</em></p>
<p>"Fair enough. It happens, but I don't like it, and wish they would go back to the original meaning. Ehh..I reserve the right to be bitter about it."</p>
<p>Oh, I know what you mean. Despite being a firm supporter of language change, I'm still a grammar nazi (I have a red pen and I'm not afraid to use it, I say). The thought of less complex verb conjugations ("You be" and the like) makes me cringe, and the slowly declining complexity of word usage is a sad prospect to me indeed. I'll fight it, I'll be bitter about it, and I'll b*tch endlessly about it; but that, sadly, doesn't stop language from changing -- large and daunting and powerful in the sense that an entire population possesses it and it changes collectively and gradually. [Insert disdain for group mentality]</p>
<p><em>Sigh</em> Indeed. You know it's bad when half my classmates had a hard time understanding The Great Gatsby (which is about as close to modern language as it gets - in classic literature, anyway).</p>
<p>This begs the OP's original question which, I assume, pertained to colleges; in other words, how does one apply the word preppy on a campus where arguably everyone is cool at one thing or another?</p>
<p>^On this site, I most often see it used as a contrast to the word "hippie". </p>
<p>If one is looking for a "hippie" atmosphere, others will often say, "X College might be too preppy for you." So I'm guessing it's a mix of lifestyle, clothing, and personal views.</p>
<p>Preppiness Explained:</p>
<p><a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=PTU2He2BIc0%5B/url%5D">http://youtube.com/watch?v=PTU2He2BIc0</a></p>
<p>That's what I think is the definition of "preppy," with an emphasis the exclusion by wealth, social standing, etc. more than particular fashion trends.</p>
<p>If "preppy" is being used as a contrast to "hippie," or "nerdy," maybe "straightforward" would be a better adjective?</p>