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A
neologism is a
word, terminology, or
phrase which has been recently created ("coined") — often to apply to new concepts, to synthesize pre-existing concepts, or to make older terminology sound more contemporary. Neologisms are especially useful in identifying
inventions, new phenomena, or old
ideas which have taken on a new cultural context. The term "e-mail", as used today, is an example of a neologism.
Etymology: Greek language
νεολογισμός [
neologismos], from
νέος [
neos] new +
λόγος [
logos] word, speech, discourse + suffix
-ισμός [
-ismos] -ism
Neologisms are by definition "new", and as such are often directly attributable to a specific individual, publication, period or event. The term "neologism" was itself coined around 1800; so for some time in the early 19th century, the word "neologism" was itself a neologism.
Neologisms can also refer to an existing word or phrase which has been assigned a new meaning.
In
psychiatry, the term is used to describe the creation of words which only have meaning to the person who uses them, independent of its common use meaning. It is considered normal in children, but a symptom of
thought disorder indicative of a
Psychosis mental illness such as
schizophrenia in adults. Usage of neologisms may also be related to
aphasia acquired after
brain damage resulting from a stroke or
Traumatic brain injury. People with
autism may also use neologisms.
In theology, a neologism is a relatively new doctrine (for example, rationalism). In this sense, a neologist is an innovator in the area of a doctrine or belief system, and is often considered heretical or subversive by the mainstream clergy or religious institution(s).
Changing culture
Neologisms tend to occur more often in cultures which are rapidly changing, and also in situations where there is easy and fast propagation of information. They are often created by combining existing words (see compound noun and adjective) or by giving words new and unique
suffixes or Prefix (linguistics)es. Those which are
portmanteaux are shortened. Neologisms can also be created through abbreviation or acronym, by intentionally
rhyme with existing words, or simply through playing with sounds.
Neologisms often become popular through memetics – by way of
mass media, the
Internet,
word of mouth (including academic discourse, renowned for its jargon, with recent coinages such as
Fordism, Taylorism,
Disneyfication and McDonaldization now in everyday use).
(See also Wiktionary's Wiktionary:Neologisms:unstable or Wiktionary:Protologism pages for a wiki venue of popularizing newly coined words). Every word in a language was, at some time, a neologism, ceasing to be such through time and acceptance.
Neologisms often become accepted parts of the language. Other times, however, they disappear from common usage. Whether a neologism continues as part of the language depends on many factors, probably the most important of which is acceptance by the public. Acceptance by linguistic experts and incorporation into dictionaries also plays a part, as does whether the phenomenon described by a neologism remains current, thus continuing to need a descriptor. It is unusual, however, for a word to enter common use if it does not resemble another word or words in an identifiable way. (In some cases, however, strange new words succeed because the idea behind them is especially memorable or exciting.) When a word or phrase is no longer "new," it is no longer a neologism. Neologisms may take decades to become "old," however. Opinions differ on exactly how old a word must be to no longer be considered a neologism; cultural acceptance probably plays a more important role than time in this regard.
Cultural acceptance
After being coined, neologisms invariably undergo scrutiny by the public and by
Prescription and description to determine their suitability to the language. Many are accepted very quickly; others attract opposition.
Grammarians (as distinct from
linguistics) sometimes object to a neologism on the grounds that a suitable term for the thing described already exists in the language. Critics who dislike the neologism will use this argument, deriding the neologism as abuse and ignorance of the language.
Some neologisms, especially those dealing with sensitive subjects, are often objected to on the grounds that they obscure the issue being discussed, and that such a word's novelty often leads a discussion away from the root issue and onto a sidetrack about the meaning of the neologism itself.
Proponents of a neologism may see it as being useful, as helping the language to grow and change, as expressive, and/or as being a fun and creative way to play with a language. Also, the semantic precision of most neologisms, along with what is usually a straightforward
syntax, often makes them easier to grasp by people who are not native speakers of the language.
The outcome of these debates, when they occur, has a great deal of influence on whether a neologism eventually becomes an accepted part of the language. Linguists may sometimes delay acceptance, for instance by refusing to include the neologism in dictionaries; this can sometimes cause a neologism to die out over time. Nevertheless if the public continues to use the term, it eventually sheds its status as a neologism and enters the language even over the objections of language experts.
Evolution of neologisms
Newly created words entering a language tend to pass through stages that can be described as:
- Unstable - Extremely new, being proposed, or being used only by a small subculture (also known as protologisms).
- Diffused - Having reached a significant audience, but not yet having gained widespread acceptance.
- Stable - Having gained recognizable and probably lasting acceptance.
- Dated - The point where the word has ceased holding novelty and has passed into cliché, formal linguistic acceptance, or become culturally dated in its use
Sources of neologism
For a list of topically arranged protologisms
(very-recently-coined terms), see Wiktionary:Wiktionary:List of protologisms by topic.
Science
Words or phrases created to describe new scientific hypotheses, discoveries, or inventions.
Examples:
- beetle bank (early 1990s)
- black hole (1968)
- laser (1960)
- meme (1976)
- prion (1982)
Science fiction
Concepts created to describe new, futuristic ideas.
Examples:
Literature more generally
See "#Neologisms in literature" topic below.
Politics
Words or phrases created to make some kind of political or rhetorical point, sometimes perhaps with an eye to the
Sapir-Whorf hypothesis.
Examples:
Pop-culture
Words or phrases evolved from mass media content or used to describe popular culture phenomena (these may be considered a variety of
slang as well as neologisms).
Examples:
Commerce and advertising
Genericised trademarks.
Examples:
- aspirin
- crock pot
- laundromat
- linoleum
- kleenex
- List of generic and genericized trademarks
Linguistics
Words or phrases created to describe new language constructs.
Examples:
Other
Miscellaneous sources.
Examples:
- nonce words — words coined and used only for a particular occasion, usually for a special literary effect.
A note about paleologisms
By contrast, a Wiktionary:paleologism is (in this context) a word or phrase that is
alleged to be a neologism but turns out to be a long-used (if obscure) term. An example is "
truthiness" (which was "re-coined" as an ironic usage by
Stephen Colbert).
Neologisms in literature
Many neologisms have come from popular literature, and tend to appear in different forms. Most commonly, they are simply taken from a word used in the narrative of a book; a few representative examples are: "
grok" (to achieve complete
intuitive understanding), from
Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein; "
McJob", from
Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture by
Douglas Coupland; "
cyberspace", from
Neuromancer by
William Gibson. Sometimes the title of the book will become the neologism, for instance,
Catch-22 (from the title of
Joseph Heller's novel). Also worthy of note is the case in which the author's name becomes the neologism, although the term is sometimes based on only one work of that author. This includes such words as "
Orwellian" (from
George Orwell, referring to his novel
Nineteen Eighty-Four) and "Ballardesque" (from J.G. Ballard, author of
Crash (1973 novel)).
Kurt Vonnegut's
Cat's Cradle was the container of the
Bokononism family of nonce words. Another category is words derived from famous characters in literature, such as "quixotic" (referring to the Don Quixote in
Don Quixote de la Mancha by Cervantes), a "
scrooge" (from the main character in
Dickens's
A Christmas Carol), or a "
pollyanna" (from
Eleanor H. Porter's book of the same name).
Lewis Carroll's poem "
Jabberwocky" has been called "the king of neologistic poems" as it incorporated some dozens of invented words. The early modern English prose writings of
Thomas Browne are the source of many neologisms as recorded by the Oxford English Dictionary.
Quotation
"Yesterday's neologisms, like yesterday's
jargon, are often today's essential vocabulary."
– Academic Instincts, 2001
See also
{|style="background-color: transparent; width: }"| width="}" align="}" valign="}" |
| width="}" align="}" valign="}" |
|}
References
External links
English
- Fowler, H.W., "The King's English," Chapter I. Vocabulary, Neologism, 2nd ed. 1908.
Information
- Root knowledge : The need for neologisms
- Neologism History & Evaluation
- International Dictionary of Literary Terms : Neologisms
- The Urban Dictionary : http://urbandictionary.com
- Langmaker.com wiki provides information about neologisms.
Wiktionary
* wikt:Neologisms:unstable
* wikt:Neologisms:diffused
* wikt:Neologisms:stable
* wikt:protologism
Indices
- The Rice University Neologisms Database 1998-2005
- The Internalational Dictionary of Neologisms
- Neologisms in Journalistic Text
- Lexicon of Neologism
- Internet Neologisms
- Neologisms in the Dictionaries of All-Consonant and All-Vowel Words
- wordspy.com
- Wordmint Blog
- unwords.com
- Collected by Rice University linguistics class, 2003
- It Figures-Figures of Speech
- Word Central a neologism project for children
- poor mallows An international single-purpose neologism project
- Coin your own word a German neologism project
A
neologism is a
word,
terminology, or
phrase which has been recently created ("coined") — often to apply to new concepts, to synthesize pre-existing concepts, or to make older terminology sound more contemporary. Neologisms are especially useful in identifying
inventions, new phenomena, or old ideas which have taken on a new cultural context. The term "e-mail", as used today, is an example of a neologism.
Etymology:
Greek language νεολογισμός [
neologismos], from
νέος [
neos] new +
λόγος [
logos] word, speech, discourse + suffix
-ισμός [
-ismos]
-ismNeologisms are by definition "new", and as such are often directly attributable to a specific individual, publication, period or event. The term "neologism" was itself coined around
1800; so for some time in the early 19th century, the word "neologism" was itself a neologism.
Neologisms can also refer to an existing word or phrase which has been assigned a new meaning.
In psychiatry, the term is used to describe the creation of words which only have meaning to the person who uses them, independent of its common use meaning. It is considered normal in children, but a symptom of thought disorder indicative of a Psychosis
mental illness such as schizophrenia in adults. Usage of neologisms may also be related to aphasia acquired after brain damage resulting from a stroke or
Traumatic brain injury. People with
autism may also use neologisms.
In theology, a neologism is a relatively new doctrine (for example,
rationalism). In this sense, a neologist is an innovator in the area of a doctrine or belief system, and is often considered heretical or subversive by the mainstream clergy or religious institution(s).
Changing culture
Neologisms tend to occur more often in cultures which are rapidly changing, and also in situations where there is easy and fast propagation of information. They are often created by combining existing words (see compound noun and adjective) or by giving words new and unique
suffixes or Prefix (linguistics)es. Those which are
portmanteaux are shortened. Neologisms can also be created through abbreviation or acronym, by intentionally rhyme with existing words, or simply through playing with sounds.
Neologisms often become popular through memetics – by way of mass media, the Internet, word of mouth (including academic discourse, renowned for its jargon, with recent coinages such as
Fordism, Taylorism, Disneyfication and
McDonaldization now in everyday use).
(See also Wiktionary's Wiktionary:Neologisms:unstable or Wiktionary:Protologism pages for a wiki venue of popularizing newly coined words). Every word in a language was, at some time, a neologism, ceasing to be such through time and acceptance.
Neologisms often become accepted parts of the language. Other times, however, they disappear from common usage. Whether a neologism continues as part of the language depends on many factors, probably the most important of which is acceptance by the public. Acceptance by linguistic experts and incorporation into dictionaries also plays a part, as does whether the phenomenon described by a neologism remains current, thus continuing to need a descriptor. It is unusual, however, for a word to enter common use if it does not resemble another word or words in an identifiable way. (In some cases, however, strange new words succeed because the idea behind them is especially memorable or exciting.) When a word or phrase is no longer "new," it is no longer a neologism. Neologisms may take decades to become "old," however. Opinions differ on exactly how old a word must be to no longer be considered a neologism; cultural acceptance probably plays a more important role than time in this regard.
Cultural acceptance
After being coined, neologisms invariably undergo scrutiny by the public and by
Prescription and description to determine their suitability to the language. Many are accepted very quickly; others attract opposition. Grammarians (as distinct from linguistics) sometimes object to a neologism on the grounds that a suitable term for the thing described already exists in the language. Critics who dislike the neologism will use this argument, deriding the neologism as abuse and ignorance of the language.
Some neologisms, especially those dealing with sensitive subjects, are often objected to on the grounds that they obscure the issue being discussed, and that such a word's novelty often leads a discussion away from the root issue and onto a sidetrack about the meaning of the neologism itself.
Proponents of a neologism may see it as being useful, as helping the language to grow and change, as expressive, and/or as being a fun and creative way to play with a language. Also, the semantic precision of most neologisms, along with what is usually a straightforward syntax, often makes them easier to grasp by people who are not native speakers of the language.
The outcome of these debates, when they occur, has a great deal of influence on whether a neologism eventually becomes an accepted part of the language. Linguists may sometimes delay acceptance, for instance by refusing to include the neologism in dictionaries; this can sometimes cause a neologism to die out over time. Nevertheless if the public continues to use the term, it eventually sheds its status as a neologism and enters the language even over the objections of language experts.
Evolution of neologisms
Newly created words entering a language tend to pass through stages that can be described as:
- Unstable - Extremely new, being proposed, or being used only by a small subculture (also known as protologisms).
- Diffused - Having reached a significant audience, but not yet having gained widespread acceptance.
- Stable - Having gained recognizable and probably lasting acceptance.
- Dated - The point where the word has ceased holding novelty and has passed into cliché, formal linguistic acceptance, or become culturally dated in its use
Sources of neologism
For a list of topically arranged protologisms
(very-recently-coined terms), see Wiktionary:Wiktionary:List of protologisms by topic.
Science
Words or phrases created to describe new scientific hypotheses, discoveries, or inventions.
Examples:
Science fiction
Concepts created to describe new, futuristic ideas.
Examples:
- ansible (1966)
- Dyson sphere (circa 1960)
- Hyperspace (science fiction) (1934)
- phaser (1966)
- metaverse (1992)
- replicant (1982)
- ringworld (1971)
- robotics (1941)
Literature more generally
See "#Neologisms in literature" topic below.
Politics
Words or phrases created to make some kind of political or rhetorical point, sometimes perhaps with an eye to the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis.
Examples:
Pop-culture
Words or phrases evolved from mass media content or used to describe popular culture phenomena (these may be considered a variety of slang as well as neologisms).
Examples:
- badonkadonk
- blog
- jumping the shark
- plus-size model
- posterized (Note, however, that this word has also existed for some time as a term for an image-editing technique; its neologistic sports usage is completely unrelated.)
- prequel
- queercore
- wardrobe malfunction
- Internet
- webinar (web-based seminar)
- From "d'oh" to "Wiktionary:cromulent" - many Culturally significant phrases from The Simpsons are now in common use.
Commerce and advertising
Genericised trademarks.
Examples:
Linguistics
Words or phrases created to describe new language constructs.
Examples:
Other
Miscellaneous sources.
Examples:
- nonce words — words coined and used only for a particular occasion, usually for a special literary effect.
A note about paleologisms
By contrast, a
Wiktionary:paleologism is (in this context) a word or phrase that is
alleged to be a neologism but turns out to be a long-used (if obscure) term. An example is "truthiness" (which was "re-coined" as an ironic usage by Stephen Colbert).
Neologisms in literature
Many neologisms have come from popular literature, and tend to appear in different forms. Most commonly, they are simply taken from a word used in the narrative of a book; a few representative examples are: "
grok" (to achieve complete
intuitive understanding), from
Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein; "McJob", from
Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture by Douglas Coupland; "cyberspace", from
Neuromancer by
William Gibson. Sometimes the title of the book will become the neologism, for instance,
Catch-22 (from the title of
Joseph Heller's novel). Also worthy of note is the case in which the author's name becomes the neologism, although the term is sometimes based on only one work of that author. This includes such words as "
Orwellian" (from George Orwell, referring to his novel
Nineteen Eighty-Four) and "Ballardesque" (from J.G. Ballard, author of
Crash (1973 novel)). Kurt Vonnegut's
Cat's Cradle was the container of the
Bokononism family of nonce words. Another category is words derived from famous characters in literature, such as "quixotic" (referring to the Don Quixote in
Don Quixote de la Mancha by
Cervantes), a "scrooge" (from the main character in Dickens's
A Christmas Carol), or a "
pollyanna" (from Eleanor H. Porter's book of the same name).
Lewis Carroll's poem "Jabberwocky" has been called "the king of neologistic poems" as it incorporated some dozens of invented words. The early modern English prose writings of
Thomas Browne are the source of many neologisms as recorded by the
Oxford English Dictionary.
Quotation
"Yesterday's neologisms, like yesterday's
jargon, are often today's essential vocabulary."
– Academic Instincts, 2001
See also
{|style="background-color: transparent; width: }"| width="}" align="}" valign="}" |
| width="}" align="}" valign="}" |
|}
References
External links
English
- Fowler, H.W., "The King's English," Chapter I. Vocabulary, Neologism, 2nd ed. 1908.
Information
- Root knowledge : The need for neologisms
- Neologism History & Evaluation
- International Dictionary of Literary Terms : Neologisms
- The Urban Dictionary : http://urbandictionary.com
- Langmaker.com wiki provides information about neologisms.
Wiktionary
*
wikt:Neologisms:unstable
*
wikt:Neologisms:diffused
* wikt:Neologisms:stable
*
wikt:protologism
Indices
- The Rice University Neologisms Database 1998-2005
- The Internalational Dictionary of Neologisms
- Neologisms in Journalistic Text
- Lexicon of Neologism
- Internet Neologisms
- Neologisms in the Dictionaries of All-Consonant and All-Vowel Words
- wordspy.com
- Wordmint Blog
- unwords.com
- Collected by Rice University linguistics class, 2003
- It Figures-Figures of Speech
- Word Central a neologism project for children
- poor mallows An international single-purpose neologism project
- Coin your own word a German neologism project
Neologism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A neologism is a word, term, or phrase that has been recently created (or "coined"), often to apply to new concepts, to synthesize pre-existing concepts, or to make older ...
Front Page
Welcome to my little corner of the web. Try and enjoy your fleeting visit. ... nick.giles@neologism.co.uk >
AskOxford: neologism
neologism /nee oll jiz’m/ • noun a newly coined word or expression. — ORIGIN from NEO-+ Greek logos ‘word’. Perform another search of the Compact Oxford English ...
neologism - Wiktionary
neologism (countable and uncountable; plural neologisms) (linguistics) A word or phrase which has recently been coined; a new word or phrase. (linguistics) (uncountable) The act or ...
Neologism | drupal.org
Neologism is a lightweight web-based vocabulary editor and publishing tool built with Drupal. It makes vocabulary authoring easy and fun. Just create a vocabulary, add classes and ...
Neologism definition |Dictionary.com
noun . 1. a new word, meaning, usage, or phrase. 2. the introduction or use of new words or new senses of existing words. 3. a new doctrine, esp. a new interpretation of sacred ...
neologism - Google Code
Making the Semantic Web easy! Neologism is a simple RDF Schema vocabulary editor and publishing system. Use it to create RDF classes and properties, which are needed to publish ...
neologism: Definition from Answers.com
neologism n. A new word, expression, or usage. The creation or use of new words or senses. Psychology
Dictionary of Difficult Words - neologism
Skip to page content | Tiscali Quicklinks. Please visit our Accessibility Page for a list of the Access Keys you can use to find your way around the site, skip directly to the main ...
neologism - Definition from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
Definition of neologism from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary with audio pronunciations, thesaurus, Word of the Day, and word games.