Phat isnât a shortening of a salacious phrase applying to the physical attributes of women; it is instead a deliberate misspelling of fat, a word that has for centuries carried in the English language (and some others) a meaning of ârich, abundant, or desirable.â Phat was accepted purely on its own merits, in the same manner that "boss" or "cool" are understood as general terms of approval without anyoneâs attempting to justify their existences as acronyms for âbitchinâ overpriced success stuffâ or âcrazy outlook on life.â
Phatâs earliest print sighting dates to a Time magazine entry of 2 August 1963 identifying it as âNegro argot,â with âmellow, phat, stone, and bossâ all being âgeneral adjectives of approval.â
Phat does not mean "pretty, hot and tempting" this is a false etymology! Phat is a 53-year-old word mean "boss."