Zelig

English

Etymology

From the surname of the character Leonard Zelig from the 1983 film Zelig who meets many famous people in the 1920s and 1930s and, apparently out of his desire to fit in and be liked, unwittingly takes on the characteristics of the strong personalities around him.^[1]

Pronunciation

(Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA^(key): /ˈzɛlɪɡ/
Hyphenation: Ze‧lig

Noun

Zelig (plural Zeligs)

An ordinary person who can change their appearance or behaviour to suit their surroundings, especially one who is unexpectedly associated with important events or people. [from 1980s]
Synonym: chameleon
An unimportant person who appears at multiple important events.

Derived terms

Translations

ordinary person who can change their appearance or behaviour to suit their surroundings — see chameleon

unimportant person who appears at multiple important events

References

^ “Zelig, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, July 2023; “Zelig, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Anagrams

Lezgi

[1] “Zelig, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, July 2023; “Zelig, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

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