Typically, a pimp does not force
prostitutes to stay with him, but the low-level types will abuse them in order
to keep them in line or maximize profits. A pimp may also offer to protect them
from other pimps, prostitutes or abusive clients. He can also enable a
prostitute to work in a particular area under his control. Pimping is a sex
crime in most jurisdictions.
The word pimp is of unknown origin. It
first appeared in English around 1600 and was used then as now to mean "a
person who arranges opportunities for sexual intercourse with a
prostitute." The figurative meaning, "a person who panders to an
undesirable or immoral impulse," was found by the middle of the 17th
century. The verb to pimp dates from the early 17th century.
But the word has seen a renaissance of
sorts, with a strong increase in use in recent years. Media attention to (and
glamorization of) the stereotype of the inner-city pimp brought such terms as
pimpmobile and pimp walk - an ostentatious swagger affected chiefly by
African-American men - to public attention in the 1970s. More recently, we've
seen the advent of a range of benign figurative uses. We can now pimp our
possessions, making them flashily decorated or customized, a use mainstreamed
by MTV's car-detailing show, Pimp My Ride. An attractive or appealing man may
be called a pimp, and this is viewed as a positive description. To describe
something using the accolade pimping is to mark it as wonderful or exciting.
Jay-Z's 2001 hit "Big Pimpin'" used the term as shorthand for a
livin'-large lifestyle.
As a verb, to pimp seems to have reclaimed
some of the earlier association with elegant dress.
But while “pimping” a ride or a wardrobe
may have become an acceptable usage, “to pimp” when applied to a woman is still
the unlovely practice of sending her out to be a whore.
And for some PIMP is short for: Peeing In
My Pants (laughing)
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