17 February 2006
Last week we examined fifty words, one from each of the years 1950-99. This week we look at words from the first half of the twentieth 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 1925 be without monkey trial, for example. Others were significant in the year they were coined and remain so today. Big Brother was coined in 1949, with Stalinism dominating Russia and Maoism having just taken over China, but it still resonates today with the current news reports of warrantless NSA wiretaps of American citizens. Others, like Movietone, are only historical artifacts today. Some appear because I was surprised how late (or early) they appeared. I would have, for example, thought sexy was around long before 1928 and I would have thought gigolo was more recent than 1922. Others were chosen just because I like them and it’s a good excuse to include them in A Way With Words, like wanderlust.
So, without further ado, the words of 1900-49
1949, Big Brother, n., omnipotent state authority, esp. one that spies on its citizens, from Orwell’s 1984
1948, dim sum, n., a Cantonese-style savory snack, a meal consisting of these
1947, jet stream, n., a strong wind in the upper troposphere, predominantly blowing from west to east
1946, on-again off-again, adj., vacillating, intermittent
1945, fissionable, adj., capable of undergoing and sustaining nuclear fission
1944, genocide, n., the deliberate extermination of a people or ethnic group
1943, acronym, n., a word formed by the initial letters of other words
1942, zoot suit, n., a style of man’s suit characterized by a long jacket with padded shoulders and high-waisted, tapering trousers
1941, paratrooper, n., a soldier trained to leave a perfectly good airplane via parachute
1940, blitz, n., a military attack launched with suddenness and great violence, esp. an aerial bombing attack, as the Blitz referring to the attacks on London in that year
1939, walkie-talkie, n., a hand-held, two-way radio
1938, nylon, n. & adj., type of synthetic fabric, denoting something made from nylon
1937, yeti, n., Sherpa name for a mythical ape-like mammal that dwells in the Himalayan mountains, the abominable snowman
1936, racism, n., the belief that characteristics and abilities are determined by race and that one race is superior to others
1935, testosterone, n., a steroid hormone responsible for the development of male secondary sexual characteristics
1934, audio, n., sound, esp. recorded or electronically transmitted sound
1933, V.I.P., abbrev., very important person
1932, bagel, n., a hard, ring-shaped, piece of bread
1931, black market, n., illegal trading in commodities that are illegal or in short supply
1930, Third Reich, n., the German state under Hitler’s rule, speculative until 1933 when it became a reality
1929, delist, v., to remove a security from the list of those traded by an exchange
1928, sexy, adj., concerned with sex, sexually attractive
1927, Movietone, n., brand name for a method of recording sound on a film negative, used chiefly in newsreels
1926, totalitarian, adj., pertaining to a system of government where all institutions are subordinated to the state
1925, monkey trial, n., Tennessee v. Scopes, the trial of a high school teacher for teaching evolution by natural selection in the public schools
1924, two-time, v., to deceive, to be unfaithful to a lover
1923, Houdini, adj. & v., descriptive of an escape or disappearance, to escape or disappear, after the stage name of magician Erich Weiss (1874-1926)
1922, gigolo, n., a male escort for a woman, a kept man
1921, Fascist, n. & adj., right-wing Italian nationalists under the leadership of Mussolini who came to power the following year, later applied to the Nazi party in Germany and more widely to anyone with right-wing, authoritarian views
1920, palooka, n., a stupid or loutish person, in boxing, a mediocre fighter
1919, airport, n., a place where passengers embark and disembark airplanes
1918, pogey bait, n., candy, from soldier’s slang
1917, camouflage, n. & v., concealment for military purposes, to so disguise something
1916, tank, n., an armored fighting vehicle
1915, Fritz, n., used to denote something German, esp. a German soldier or soldiers
1914, air-raid, n., an attack by airplane
1913, airmail, n., postal service conveyed by airplane
1912, vigorish, n., a percentage deducted from gambling winnings as payment to the house, a usurious rate of interest
1911, Cubism, n., a style of early 20th century art consisting of a rejection of perspective of a single viewpoint and representations of people and objects using simple geometric shapes, also Cubist, an artist who works in Cubist style
1910, sabotage, n., malicious damage inflicted on property during a labor strike or by military forces
1909, mouth-to-mouth, adj., denoting a method of artificial respiration
1908, Oz, n., spelling variant abbreviation of Australia
1907, Wimbledon, n., lawn tennis tournament played in this district of South London
1906, El, n., an elevated train
1905, Sinn Fein, n., the name of an Irish independence and nationalist movement
1904, heartland, n., the central region of a nation, esp. one that characterizes the nation as a whole
1903, chow mein, n., fried noodles served with a thick sauce or stew
1902, wanderlust, n., a desire or fondness for traveling
1901, Hall of Fame, n., a place where persons in a particular field or institution are commemorated
1900, Zeppelin, n., a dirigible airship
