Root of Word <i> Jeep</i>

A brief correction on the origin of the word “Jeep” (referred to in the story, “A Real Survivor, Hardy Jeep Was Lure for Chrysler,” March 10):

Both the American Heritage Dictionary and the Dictionary of American Slang say that Jeep is from the Army term “GP”--general purpose--as in “Vehicle, GP.” The latter lexical source adds: “reinforced by the noise ‘jeep’ made by a mythical animal who could do almost anything, in E. C. Segar’s comic strip, ‘Popeye.’ circa 1938.”

C. J. WRIGHT

Venice

Editor’s Note: According to Webster’s New World Dictionary, the term “jeep” came from the “Eugene the Jeep” creature in Segar’s comic strip and was later associated with the term “GP.”