Bishionary
Bish /bɪʃ/
[Orig. 1990’s US slang] Variations: biatch, bitch
Singular noun. Plural: bish-es: /bɪʃɪz/
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- A self-identifier indicating pride, confidence, and attractiveness: the Real Bish (username, Urban Dictionary), Fashion Bishes: bishes who love fashion (WordPress Blog, 2011), MissBish: Bishes in the Kitchen (MissBish.com, 2016)
- A very close and trusted friend: Amy has been my bish since we were in high school. (Urban Dictionary, 2006)
- Term of endearment/empowerment: OMG bish, you took forever to call me back! (Urban Dictionary, 2005)
- A condescending term of address: On December 19th… You’re supposed to vote for Donald Drumpf but bish… He cray (Kate McKinnon, SNL, 2016)
- Censored form of “bitch:” Quit acting like a bunch of bishes, and shut the fuck up. (Urban Dictionary, 2004)
The Story of Bish
Bish originated from African American English (AAE) and let’s be real it was probably coined by a young woman*. Bish enjoyed a quiet early life in the late 90’s as a family-friendly form of bitch. The early 2000s saw an expanded usage to expressions of friendship and empowerment, and a reclamation of the term from its disparaging connotation. In the 2010’s, bish seeped into Standard American slang, a common journey for AAE slang (see: fleek, bae, ratchet) compliments of the popularity of hip hop**. The transfer (and possible ruin***) of bish from black youth culture to white girl culture was signaled by its appearance in Katy Perry’s song Swish Swish Bish in 2017. Now bish may be found on sassy T-shirts about rosé and heard from the lips of basics. Enter LinguaBishes.
(When straight white men pick it up, you’ll know it’s been used to death.)
**https://www.waywordradio.org/popularized-african-american-slang
***https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/black-slang-white-people-ruined_us_55ccda07e4b064d5910ac8b3