English
keep it real
From keep + it + real.
A compound of keep + it + real
Proto-Indo-European *ǵab-
Proto-Germanic *kōpijaną ‘to look’
Proto-West Germanic *kōpijan
Old English cēpan ‘to seize’
Middle English kepen ‘to keep’
English keep
Proto-Indo-European *ḱe- ‘this’
Proto-Germanic *hit ‘this’
Proto-West Germanic *hit
Old English hit
Middle English hit
English it
Proto-Indo-European *reh₁ís ‘wealth, goods’
…
Latin rēs ‘thing, matter’
Late Latin reālis ‘actual’
Old French reel
Middle English real ‘real, true’
English real
Today it means
verb To perform an individual’s experience of being black in the United States.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / keep it real