Message from discussion Etymology of the word "PIMPING"

From: nbelle3...@aol.com (NBelle3189)
Subject: Re: Etymology of the word "PIMPING"
Date: 1997/09/12
Message-ID: <19970912024601.WAA17936@ladder01.news.aol.com>#1/1
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In article <5v6vpa$1...@nntp6.u.washington.edu>, ro...@u.washington.edu
(Jared Roach) writes:

>"pimping"
>"to pimp"
>"I've been pimped"
>etc.
>
>What do people know about this word?  The OED seems clueless as to 
>its use in medical education circles.
>
>How long has this word been used in medical education circles?
>Where does it come from?
>What does it mean?
>
>
>

I can't say how long the term " pimping" has been used in medical circles
but I first heard the term six years ago when I began working at a teaching
hospital. The term comes from the fact that the clinical instructors would
"pimp" the medical students as a way of updating their(the clinical
professor's) basic science and epidemology knowledge base. Instead of
heading to a library or surfing the net, a clinical professor such as a
surgical attending would pick the brain of a third-year medical student who
was fresh from the basic science classes. This is analagous to the pimp who
makes a living by the prostitution labors of the men and women in his or
her stable on the street. Thus the term "to pimp". 

Natalie J. Belle
MA-1
Howard University 
College of Medicine