nerd

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See also: Nerd and NERD

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

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

Noun

nerd (plural nerds)

  1. (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.
  2. (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
  3. (informal, sometimes derogatory) A member of a subculture revolving around intellectualism, technology, video games, fantasy and science fiction, comic books and assorted media.
  4. (informal, sometimes derogatory, dated) One who is socially inept or unattractive, but often brainy; a social outcast.

Synonyms

Derived terms

Descendants

  • → 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

References

Further reading

Anagrams

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from English nerd.

Pronunciation

Noun

nerd m (plural nerds, diminutive nerdje n)

  1. nerd

Derived terms

Norwegian Bokmål

Norwegian Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia no

Etymology

Borrowed from English nerd.

Pronunciation

Noun

nerd m (definite singular nerden, indefinite plural nerder, definite plural nerdene)

  1. a nerd

References

Norwegian Nynorsk

Norwegian Nynorsk Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia nn

Etymology

Borrowed from English nerd.

Noun

nerd m (definite singular nerden, indefinite plural nerdar, definite plural nerdane)

  1. a nerd

References

Polish

Polish Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia pl

Etymology

Borrowed from English nerd.

Pronunciation

Noun

nerd m pers

  1. (derogatory) nerd (intellectual, skillful person, generally introverted)

Declension

Declension of nerd
singular plural
nominative nerd nerdzi/nerdy
genitive nerda nerdów
dative nerdowi nerdom
accusative nerda nerdów
instrumental nerdem nerdami
locative nerdzie nerdach
vocative nerdzie nerdzi/nerdy

Further reading

  • nerd in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Portuguese

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English nerd.

Pronunciation

 

Noun

nerd m or f by sense (plural nerds)

  1. nerd (intellectual, introverted and quirky person)
    Synonyms: totó, (Brazil) CDF

Adjective

nerd (invariable)

  1. nerdy (who is a nerd)

Usage notes

Until recently, this word was somewhat pejorative. Nowadays it is used both negatively and positively.

Spanish

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English nerd.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈneɾd/
  • Rhymes: -eɾd
  • Syllabification: nerd

Noun

nerd m or f by sense (plural nerds)

  1. nerd
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