where did the word 'nerd' originate?

Answer 1

Nerd, as a stereotypical or archetypal designation, refers to somebody who passionately pursues intellectual or esoteric knowledge or pastimes rather than engaging in a social life, participating in organized sports, or other mainstream activities. The Merriam-Webster definition is an "unstylish, unattractive, or socially inept person; especially: one slavishly devoted to intellectual or academic pursuits."

The word "nerd" first appeared in Dr. Seuss's book If I Ran the Zoo[1], published in 1950, where it simply names one of Seuss's many comical imaginary animals. (The narrator Gerald McGrew claims that he would collect "a Nerkle, a Nerd, and a Seersucker too" for his imaginary zoo.)

The use of the "nerd" as slang goes back at least to 1951, when it was reported as a relatively new usage in Detroit, Michigan first by Newsweek[2] and then the St. Joseph, Michigan, Herald-Press[3]. By the early 1960s, usage of the term spread through the United States[4] and as far as Scotland[5]. Throughout this first decade, the definition was consistent—a dull person, a synonym of "square", "drip" and "scurve". During the next decade, it took on connotations of bookishness as well as social ineptitude, and the spelling "nurd" began to appear. The University of South Dakota's journal, Current Slang, contains four entries for "nurd" and one for "nerd" in 1970 and 1971. [6][7][8]

The first recorded use of the "nurd" spelling appeared in 1965, in the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) Bachelor[9]. Oral tradition at RPI holds that the word was coined there, spelled as "knurd" ("drunk" spelled backwards), to describe those who studied rather than partied. This usage predates a similar coinage of "knurd" by author Terry Pratchett, but has not been documented prior to the "nurd" spelling in 1965.

Other theories of the word's origin include a variation on Mortimer Snerd, the name of Edgar Bergen's ventriloquist dummy and the Northern Electric Research and Development labs in Ontario, suggesting images of engineers wearing pocket protectors with the acronym N.E.R.D. printed on them, and a claim by Philip K. Dick to having coined "nurd".[10] The term itself was used heavily in the American 1974 – 1984 television comedy Happy Days which was set in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in the mid-1950s.

Answer 2

The Oxford English Dictionary, which is the bible of such things, says this:

Origin uncertain and disputed (see below).
Perhaps from nerd, a fictional animal in the children's story "If I ran the Zoo" (1950) by ‘Dr. Seuss’, depicted as a small, unkempt, humanoid creature with a large head and a comically disapproving expression.
Alternatively, sometimes explained as a euphemistic alteration of TURD, although given the predominance of early spellings in -e-, this seems unlikely.
The suggestion that the word is back-slang for DRUNK is also unsupported by the spellings, as is derivation from the name of Mortimer Snerd, a dummy used by the U.S. ventriloquist Edgar Bergen in the 1930s.]

Answer 3

One entry found for nerd.
Main Entry: nerd
Pronunciation: 'n&rd
Function: noun
Etymology: perhaps from nerd, a creature in the children's book If I Ran the Zoo (1950) by Dr. Seuss (Theodor Geisel)
: an unstylish, unattractive, or socially inept person; especially : one slavishly devoted to intellectual or academic pursuits
- nerd·i·ness /'n&r-dE-n&s/ noun
- nerd·ish /'n&r-dish/ adjective
- nerdy /-dE/ adjective

Answer 4

because the very sound of it makes you think of some bleak maths student with huuuggeeee glasses, snotty nose, high tight jeans with a belt and buckle, and a buttoned shirt with a bow tie. oh, and an awful hairstyle.

listen to it: "Nerd"....hear it well "Nerd"....absorb the frequency.."Nerd"...

get my point?

Answer 5

geek street?
nerd city?
i dont know, i suppose its one of those silly words that someone just started saying and it caught on

Answer 6

It's a derivative of , nere do well , ( never do well ) nerd !!

Answer 7

'Happy Days'--Fonzie called his buddies 'nerds'
;)

Answer 8

my other half. LOL