originally U.S. basketball slang, 1980 as a noun, 1981 as a verb, though the greeting itself seems to be older (e.g. Dick Shawn in "The Producers," 1968).
n. a greeting where the palm of the hand is raised and slapped against another person's palm similarly raised. (Compare this with low five.) : They exchanged a high five and went on with the show.
tv. & in. to greet someone as described in sense 1. : They high fived and went off together.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition. Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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