Orthogonian
English edit
Etymology edit
Coined by Richard M. Nixon in 1930 from Ancient Greek ὀρθός (orthós, “straight”), Ancient Greek γωνία (gōnía, “corner, angle”), + -ian, to mean "straight shooter".
Noun edit
Orthogonian (plural Orthogonians)
- A member of the Orthogonian society, a social club at Whittier College founded by Richard M. Nixon in opposition to the wealthy elites at Whittier.
- 2016, Steven Hyden, Your Favorite Band Is Killing Me:
- Orthogonians, like Nixon, saw themselves as hardworking "regular" people fighting against a powerful elite (personified by the Franklins) for status and wealth.
- 2023, Paul Carter, Richard Nixon: California's Native Son, page 40:
- Fellow Orthogonians considered him an idealist who emphasized Orthogonian rituals to develop moral behavior among the members.
- 2023, Michael Richman, George Allen: A Football Life:
- Al Stoll, a longtime Orthogonian who graduated from Whittier in 1949, surmised that Nixon possibly started the Orthogonian Society to compensate for the fact that he was a nonfactor on the field.
Adjective edit
Orthogonian (comparative more Orthogonian, superlative most Orthogonian)
- Pertaining to or characteristic of the Orthogonian society and its ethos of appealing to working-class values and opposition to a wealthy ruling elite.
- 2011, Chris Matthews, Kennedy & Nixon: The Rivalry that Shaped Postwar America:
- Nixon would employ the same Orthogonian politics in his adult career.
- 2015, Dr. Bill Thomas, William H. Thomas, Second Wind, page 51:
- In place of "flower power" and "the struggle," America was offered what Rick Perstein in Nixonland calls an "Orthogonian” worldview. In its pure form, this ideal embraced the virtues of a productive, humble, and obedient adulthood.
- 2016, Steven Hyden, Your Favorite Band Is Killing Me:
- Stone explored the Orthogonian concept thirteen years earlier in Nixon, though he did it with a lot less nuance.