also hep-cat, "addict of swing music," more generally, "one who is in the know and knows it," 1937, from hep (1) "aware, up-to-date" in jazz slang + cat (n.) in the slang sense "jazz enthusiast."
hep
hepar
heparin
hepatic
hepatitis
hepcat
Hephaestus
Hephzibah
Hepplewhite
hepta-
heptagon