# What exactly is a 'mac' **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 21, 2001, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-a-mac/58817 "2001-03-21T04:10:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DonJuanDeMarco3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@DonJuanDeMarco3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DonJuanDeMarco3)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2001, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-a-mac/58817/1 "2001-03-21T04:10:42Z")
You know the word, you know the song, what does it all really mean ---
**Author:** ![sethdallob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@sethdallob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sethdallob)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2001, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-a-mac/58817/2 "2001-03-21T04:13:26Z")
😕 Mac = macintosh 😕 ---
**Author:** ![DonJuanDeMarco3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@DonJuanDeMarco3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DonJuanDeMarco3)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2001, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-a-mac/58817/3 "2001-03-21T04:22:06Z")
Despite my earlier ideas of lack of confusion in what I was asking, and in the idea that apple/mac had no ebonic fluent founders, I will ask again, The return of the mac, or the mac daddy or whatever. what is it short for? ---
**Author:** ![Linear\_Crack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Linear\_Crack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Linear_Crack)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2001, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-a-mac/58817/4 "2001-03-21T05:40:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DonJuanDeMarco3 \* > \*\* The return of the mac, or the mac daddy or whatever. what is it short for? \*\* It’s a nickname as in FELLOW – used informally to address a man whose name is not known. ---
**Author:** ![Linear\_Crack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Linear\_Crack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Linear_Crack)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2001, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-a-mac/58817/5 "2001-03-21T06:00:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Linear Crack \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by DonJuanDeMarco3 \* > > \*\* The return of the mac, or the mac daddy or whatever. what is it short for? \*\* > > It’s a nickname as in FELLOW – used informally to address a man whose name is not known. > > \*\* Also, the origin of the word most likely comes from the patronymic prefix in Scottish and Irish surnames. All this wonderful knowledge can be yours with a Websters Dictionary! ---
**Author:** ![DonJuanDeMarco3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@DonJuanDeMarco3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DonJuanDeMarco3)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2001, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-a-mac/58817/6 "2001-03-23T02:35:05Z")
So you are trying to tell me that when all of these 20th century rappers say ‘mac daddy’ they are refering to the father of the MacIntosh family. That makes so much sense. This whole time I thought they were refering to so kind of equivelent to the pimp daddy. Please more people give your opinion if you think these great minds are wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2001, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-a-mac/58817/7 "2001-03-23T09:12:33Z")
It’s “mack”, not “mac”. > [@](#): > > …Since the mid 1990s, mack has been primarily college slang, used by teens and twenty-somethings to talk about flirting or kissing. It is often found in the construction mack on, probably by analogy with the phrase “hit on.” Mack can still be used as a noun to refer to someone who is good at “hooking up” with members of the opposite sex, probably through truncation of mack daddy, which, these days, refers more often to smooth-talking teenage boys than it does to pimps. [Word of the Day](http://www.randomhouse.com/wotd/index.pperl?date=20000803) ---
**Author:** ![Tansu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/67e7ee/32.png) [@Tansu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tansu)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2001, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-a-mac/58817/8 "2001-03-23T10:15:24Z")
Well, er, gosh darn! I was just about to say that it comes from the French _macquereau_ (mackerel) meaning pimp. Then I thought it might be best to check **mattk** ’s link first. All the etymology is already there. Bugger. All I can add is that the French _mec_ (bloke) has the same derivation. My - rather bourgeouise - French Grammar teacher told me she didn’t like her daughter to use the word because its origins weren’t quite nice.