nerd
English edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
Unknown. Attested since 1951 as US student slang.
- Perhaps an alteration of nerts (“nuts", "crazy”); see references below.
- The word, capitalized, appeared in 1950 in Dr. Seuss’s If I Ran the Zoo as the name of an imaginary animal:
- And then, just to show them, I’ll sail to Katroo / And bring back an It-Kutch, a Preep and a Proo, / A Nerkle, a Nerd and a Seersucker too!
- Possibly a rebracketing of inert as a nert, as in he's inert = he's a nerd, in reference to one's competence or athletic ability.
- Various unlikely folk etymologies and less likely backronymic speculations also exist.
Pronunciation edit
- (Received Pronunciation) enPR: nûd, IPA(key): /nɜːd/
- (US) enPR: nûrd, IPA(key): /nɝːd/
Audio (AU) (file) - Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)d
Noun edit
nerd (plural nerds)
- (slang, sometimes derogatory) A person who is intellectual but generally introverted.
- 1953 Advertisement for "Businessman's Lunch", a play by Micheal Quinn, in Patricia Brown, Gloria Mundi
- They particularly enjoy making fun of one of their fellows who is not present, whom they consider a hopeless nerd – until, that is, they learn he is engaged to marry the boss's daughter.
- 2002, Sam Williams, Free as in Freedom:
- "We were all geeks and nerds, but he was unusually poorly adjusted," recalls Chess, now a mathematics professor at Hunter College.
- 2009 February 28, “Orszag to present budget blueprint”, in WBBH:
- "Yes, I am super nerd, and the whole room cracked up," Said Orszag.
- 1953 Advertisement for "Businessman's Lunch", a play by Micheal Quinn, in Patricia Brown, Gloria Mundi
- (informal, sometimes derogatory) One who has an intense, obsessive interest in something.
- Synonym: geek
- Hyponym: otaku
- a computer nerd
- a comic-book nerd
- Synonyms: dag (Australian), geek, propeller head
- (informal, sometimes derogatory) A member of a subculture revolving around intellectualism, technology, video games, fantasy and science fiction, comic books and assorted media. [from 1980s]
- (informal, sometimes derogatory, dated) One who is socially inept or unattractive, but often brainy; a social outcast.
Synonyms edit
- See also Thesaurus:dork
Derived terms edit
- arachnerd
- cybernerd
- entreprenerd
- millionerd
- nerdboy
- nerdbrain
- nerdcore
- nerdette
- nerdfest
- nerdgasm
- nerd glasses
- Nerdic
- nerdification
- nerdify
- nerdiness
- nerdish
- nerdism
- nerdistan
- nerdlet
- nerdlike
- nerdling
- nerdlinger
- nerdo
- nerdom, nerddom
- nerd out
- nerd pole
- nerd revolution
- nerd-snipe
- nerd snipe
- nerdsome
- nerdspeak
- nerdtastic
- nerdvana
- nerdy
- technonerd
- word nerd
Descendants edit
- → Dutch: nerd
- → Faroese: nørdur
- → Finnish: nörtti
- → Icelandic: nörd
- → Norwegian Bokmål: nerd
- → Norwegian Nynorsk: nerd
- → Polish: nerd
- → Portuguese: nerd
- → Spanish: nerd
- → Swedish: nörd
- → Turkish: nörd
Translations edit
intellectual, skillful person, generally introverted
|
References edit
- Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “nerd”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
Further reading edit
- nerd on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
- Category:Nerds on Wikimedia Commons.Wikimedia Commons
Anagrams edit
Dutch edit
Etymology edit
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
nerd m (plural nerds, diminutive nerdje n)
Derived terms edit
Norwegian Bokmål edit
Etymology edit
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
nerd m (definite singular nerden, indefinite plural nerder, definite plural nerdene)
- a nerd
References edit
- “nerd” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
Norwegian Nynorsk edit
Etymology edit
Noun edit
nerd m (definite singular nerden, indefinite plural nerdar, definite plural nerdane)
- a nerd
References edit
- “nerd” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
Polish edit
Etymology edit
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
nerd m pers
- (derogatory) nerd (intellectual, skillful person, generally introverted)
Declension edit
Declension of nerd
Further reading edit
- nerd in Polish dictionaries at PWN
Portuguese edit
Etymology edit
Unadapted borrowing from English nerd.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
nerd m or f by sense (plural nerds)
Adjective edit
nerd (invariable)
- nerdy (who is a nerd)
Usage notes edit
Until recently, this word was somewhat pejorative. Nowadays it is used both negatively and positively.
Spanish edit
Etymology edit
Unadapted borrowing from English nerd.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
nerd m or f by sense (plural nerds)