- Playing
- Dope
- From
- Chrysti M. Smith
In this "Chrysti the Wordsmith": the evolution of the word "dope" from
its origin as a Dutch word for "sauce" to its more recent hip-hop
meaning of "cool, great"
"Chrysti the Wordsmith" two-minute modules are produced at KGLT Montana
State University- Bozeman, and broadcast in Montana and Wyoming on
Yellowstone Public Radio and Montana Public Radio, and internationally
on the Armed Forces Radio and TV Network.
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Related Pieces
Piece Description
In this "Chrysti the Wordsmith": the evolution of the word "dope" from its origin as a Dutch word for "sauce" to its more recent hip-hop meaning of "cool, great" "Chrysti the Wordsmith" two-minute modules are produced at KGLT Montana State University- Bozeman, and broadcast in Montana and Wyoming on Yellowstone Public Radio and Montana Public Radio, and internationally on the Armed Forces Radio and TV Network.
Broadcast History
Heard as daily feature on KGLT-FM, Bozeman, MT; Yellowstone Public Radio, Billings, MT; Montana Public Radio, Missoula; and Armed Forces Radio and TV Network.
Transcript
Dope
The slang term dope has a diverse linguistic history. Its meanings have ranged from simpleton, to narcotics, to soft drink, and, as late as the 1990s, it took on a new connotation as a synonym for excellent or attractive. Oddly, in tracing the history of dope, we find one unexpected source: the Dutch word doop, which means “sauce.”
American English borrowed this word from Dutch in the early 1800s, when it originally referred to gravy or dipping sauce. By the early 1900s it emerged as a synonym for any thick sauce or liquid preparation from molasses to lubricants to medicinal ointments.
In many parts of the country, a sweet carbonated soft drink was called a dope (for its syrupy base ingredients), and soda fountains regularly advertised flavored dopes or toppings to pour over ice cream.
Meanwhile, the dope that became synonymous with narco...
Read the full transcript
Musical Works
Intro/Outro music
"Pencils-Family Suite"
Stuart Weber
Hired Man's Dream
Bridger Records
1992
Related Website
