The word "preppy" (also spelled "preppie") derives from "preparatory" and refers to someone who attends or has attended a college preparatory secondary school. In actual use, preppy implies a wide variety of assumptions about the class, style, and values of such a person. Preppy can be used as a noun ("She dresses like a preppy.") or an adjective ("I'm not interested in your preppy friends.") It can be congratulatory or condescending, though its use is usually humorous and to some degree derisive.

Though preppy was long in use among high school and college students, the word first gained wide national exposure in Erich Segal's 1970 romantic novel Love Story and the movie that was made from it. Set on the Harvard University campus, the novel describes the relationship between working-class Radcliffe student Jenny Cavilleri and blueblood Harvard jock Oliver Barrett. Jenny's personality is characterized by salty language, a blue-collar...