High-fiving is a celebratory gesture where
two participants raise their hands over their heads and slap each others
hands. The high five is often seen after a good play in sports, and
indeed, University of Louisville basketball players Wiley Brown, Daryl
Cleveland and Derek Smith claimed to have invented it in 1979 during
pre-season practice as an odd, attention-getting gesture of triumph.
However, hand slapping is also a way of greeting, especially among young
people. The New Dictionary of American Slang (1986) says the high five is
"Chiefly used by and adopted from athletes. Although this may be true we
believe that today it is much more widely used among people every
where as a gesture celebrating any task preformed exceptionally well.