Where does “keep it real” come from?
keep it real (English) comes from English real, from Middle English real, from Old French reel, from Latin reālis, from Latin rēs, from Latin vindicatio, from Latin vindicō, from Latin vindex — small stone, pebble; gravel, rubble.
keep it real (English): To perform an individual’s experience of being black in the United States
Definitions
- To perform an individual’s experience of being black in the United States
Ancestry of “keep it real”, step by step
keep it real traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.
via English real
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | real | True, genuine, not merely nominal or apparent;... |
| 2 | Middle English | real | real, true, factual; concerning possessions;... |
| 3 | Old French | reel | — |
| 4 | Latin | reālis | real |
| 5 | Latin | rēs | thing, object, stuff |
| 6 | Latin | vindicatio | civil lawsuit; protection, defence; vindication;... |
| 7 | Latin | vindicō | to lay claim to as one's own (often with sibi) |
| 8 | Latin | vindex | claimant, vindicator |
| 9 | Latin | dīcō | to say, talk, speak, utter, mention |
| 10 | Latin | -tiō | tion, -ation, -ing |
| 11 | Latin | dissertātiō | (spoken) dissertation, discourse, disquisition |
| 12 | Latin | dissertus | arranged, disposed; explained |
| 13 | Latin | disserere | second-person singular future passive indicative... |
| 14 | Latin | dis- | asunder, apart, in two; reversal, removal;... |
| 15 | Latin | calceus | shoe |
| 16 | Latin | calx | limestone; chalk; the finish line |
| 17 | Ancient Greek | χάλιξ | small stone, pebble; gravel, rubble |
via English keep
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | keep | To continue in (a course or mode of action); to not intermit or fall from; to uphold or maintain |
| 2 | Middle English | kepen | to keep, guard, look after, watch |
| 3 | Old English | cēpan | to seize, hold, observe |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | *kōpijan | — |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | kōpijaną | to look after, observe; to watch, keep, care for |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵab- | — |