Spock

See also: spock

English

Etymology

Anglicized from Dutch Spaak.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /spɒk/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

Proper noun

Spock (countable and uncountable, plural Spocks)

1. An American surname from Dutch.
2. (science fiction) In Star Trek, a Starfleet commander and science officer of the USS Enterprise, especially known for his Vulcan logic, reason, and stoicism and his distinctive pointed ears.

   Alternative form: Mr. Spock

   • 2010, William McDonald Wallace, The Decline and Fall of the U.S. Economy: How Liberals and Conservatives Both Got It Wrong, Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, page 48:

     This caricature called economic man was not only completely self-centered, he was also entirely rational in all his decisions, whether consuming or investing—a veritable Mr. Spock.

   • 2008 December 2, “Sportsman of the Year: Michael Phelps”, in Sports Illustrated:

     Phelps's calorie intake may seem superhuman, and his 6' 4", 185-pound body may recall Greek statuary, but fans are also drawn to him by a goofy grin and oversized ears that led to his being called Spock on the school bus.

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:Spock.
3. Ellipsis of Mr. Spock. An asteroid in Main Belt, Solar System

Derived terms

• Spock ears
• Spockery
• Spock generation
• Spockian
• Spocking
• Spockish
• Spockism
• Spock-marked

 

Noun

Spock (plural Spocks)

1. (pop psychology) A person or character like a Star Trek Vulcan; someone resembling Star Trek's character Spock.
2. (rock paper scissors) The Vulcan salute when used in rock-paper-scissors-lizard-Spock, a handshape that beats rock and scissors and loses to lizard and paper.

Synonyms

• Vulcan

Verb

Spock (third-person singular simple present Spocks, present participle Spocking, simple past and past participle Spocked)

1. (rock paper scissors) To play the Vulcan salute hand. (Can we add an example for this sense?)

Anagrams

• pocks