10 February 2006
Last week we examined a number of words from one year, 1906. This week and next we will look at one word for each year of the 20th century.
The words chosen all have their first citation in the Oxford English Dictionary from the year in question. This does not mean that they were actually coined in that year, in fact most were probably not since it usually takes some time from the coining of a term and its appearance in print and there is no guarantee that the OED has even identified the earliest recorded use. But the words were reasonably new to the English language in the year in question and as such are a good guide for tripping down memory lane and recalling what things were new and important in a given year.
For most years, the OED offers several hundred words to choose from. The words here were not selected in any scientific or systematic way. They are simply words that stood out as either representative of that year or just because I found them interesting for some reason or another. Some were obvious choices. What would 1957 be without sputnik, for example. Others wouldn’t have been the choice of word of the year at the time, but their historic importance is seen today. Of all the revolutions in 1969, perhaps the longest lasting and most influential was the invention of the microprocessor. Some appear because I was surprised how late (or early) they appeared. I would have, for example, thought road-kill was around long before 1979. Others were chosen just because I like them and it’s a good excuse to include them in A Way With Words, like gobsmacked.
So, without further ado, the words of 1950-99:
1999, blog, n., a public diary on the world wide web, web log
1998, Furby, n., brand name for a furry electronic toy
1997, dot-commer, n., employee of a internet startup business
1996, Viagra, n., brand name for the drug sildenafil citrate, used to treat male impotence
1995, meatspace, n., the physical world, as opposed to cyberspace
1994, supersize, v., to increase the size of something, esp. of a fast-food order, and by outlandish proportions
1993, DVD, n., data recording format, esp. for video, from digital video disk (also digital versatile disk)
1992, e-business, n., a company that conducts business over the internet
1991, carjacking, n., the stealing of an automobile by threatening the driver with violence
1990, cringeworthy, adj., causing one to cringe, from embarrassment or disgust
1989, eco-friendly, adj., not harmful to the environment
1988, channel surfing, n., to rapidly scan through available television channels in search of something of interest, esp. with a remote control
1987, patient zero, n., an individual who carries the disease into a region or population previously free of it
1986, glasnost, n., Soviet policy of greater freedom of information and speech
1985, gobsmacked, adj., flabbergasted, astounded, left speechless
1984, home-school, v., to teach one’s children at home instead of sending them to an established school
1983, bog-standard, adj., ordinary, without modification, unexceptional, of unknown origin
1982, veejay, n., video jockey, presenter of a television program of music videos, after D.J.
1981, Walkman, n., trade name for a portable cassette player and headphones
1980, Euro, adj., pertaining to Western Europe and its culture
1979, road-kill, n., an animal killed by an automobile
1978, chopsocky, adj. & n., pertaining to a martial arts film, esp. low-budget ones
1977, Jazzercise, n., brand name for a program of physical exercises accompanied by jazz music
1976, meme, n., a cultural element that propagates throughout a population analogous to a biological trait propagated by a gene, coined by biologist Richard Dawkins in his book The Selfish Gene
1975, Betamax, n., a brand name for a proprietary videotape format
1974, trifecta, n., a bet where the gambler attempts to pick the win, place, and show in a horse race
1973, F-word, n., a euphemism for a particular four-letter word
1972, phreak, n. & v., to use an electronic device to dial a pay phone without paying, one who uses such a device
1971, bong, n., a water pipe used to smoke marijuana
1970, counter-culture, n., radical outlook that rejects established social values
1969, microprocessor, n., an integrated circuit that serves as the CPU of a computer
1968, 911, n., emergency telephone number in the US and Canada
1967, gofer, n., a person who runs errands, from "go for"
1966, zit, n., a pimple
1965, spaz, n., term of disparagement, denoting lack of physical coordination, foolishness, or adherence to traditional values, from spastic
1964, sitcom, n., situation comedy, a television genre
1963, inner child, n., a person’s authentic personality, as it would be if undamaged by childhood psychological traumas; the part of one’s personality that enjoys childish things
1962, bait and switch, n., unscrupulous sales technique where a low-priced or attractive product is used to attract customers who are then sold a more expensive or inferior product
1961, born-again, adj., pertaining to Christian spiritual rebirth, evangelical
1960, Velcro, n., trade name for fastener consisting of two strips of fabric, one having small loops on the surface and other tiny hooks
1959, skosh, n., a small amount, from the Japanese sukoshi, a little, somewhat
1958, film noir, n., a genre of cinema characterized by gloomy and fatalistic themes
1957, sputnik, n., an artificial satellite, esp. a Russian one, from the Russian word for satellite, literally traveling companion
1956, glitterati, n., fashionable society
1955, boogie, v., to dance
1954, prescriptivism, n., the belief that language has normative rules to which usage should conform
1953, hippie, n., a usually young member of the counter-culture, a drug user, a beatnik
1952, beat generation, n., a label for a group of writers and artists who adopted unconventional dress and manners as a means of self-expression and protest
1951, motocross, n., cross-country motorcycle racing
1950, brainwashing, n., involuntary or forced political re-education
Next week: 1900-49.
