At most, the greatest persons, are but great wens, and excrescences; men of wit and delightfull conversation, but as moales for ornament, except they be so incorporated into the body of the world, that they contribute something to the sustentation of the whole. [John Donne, letter to Sir Henry Goodere, Sept. 1608]
这是Very Important Person的缩写。据说，在第二次世界大战期间，英军的运输部队用飞机把一批重要人物送往中东，基地的指挥官为了防止泄露他们的身份，就创造了VIP这一简称。从此以后，这一用语便开始通用起来。