Hippie

Podcast 1 · Introduction

Hippie

A documentary-style narration: origin, meaning, and feel.

Part of speech

noun and adjective

Pronunciation

HIP-ee  /ˈhɪpi/

Definition

A person associated with the countercultural movement of the 1960s and early 1970s, characterised by rejection of conventional social values, advocacy of peace and free love, communal living, psychedelic experience, and distinctive dress including long hair and colourful clothing; loosely, any person with unconventional, alternative lifestyle values associated with this aesthetic.

Plain meaning

A hippie was originally a person involved in the 1960s counterculture movement who rejected mainstream society in favour of peace, communal living, psychedelic drugs, and alternative spirituality. Today hippie is used more loosely for anyone with a free-spirited, anti-materialist, nature-loving lifestyle.

Register

Informal. Hippie can be affectionate, neutral, or slightly dismissive depending on context. It retains a specific historical reference to the 1960s counterculture but is now used more broadly. The spelling hippie is standard; hippy is an alternative spelling.