Nerd

Table of contents

1 English 1.1 Etymology 1.2 Pronunciation 1.3 Noun 1.3.1 Synonyms 1.3.2 Derived terms 1.3.3 Translations 1.4 See also

English

Etymology

Unknown.

• First used in Dr. Seuss 's book If I Ran the Zoo, 1950 as the name of an imaginary animal.
• Possibly from Mortimer Snerd, the name of Edgar Bergen 's ventriloquist dummy.
• Possibly from the acronym N.E.R.D. on the pocket protectors of employees of the company Northern Electric Research and Developments; it should be noted, however, that speculative etymologies based on acronyms are almost always false (such as "port out, starboard home" for "posh" and "to insure promptness" for "tip").
• Possibly a pronunciation of the word "drunk" spelled in reverse ("knurd"), used to mean a person who does not drink at parties - this seems somewhat contrived.

Pronunciation

• nû(r)d, /nɜː(r)d/, /n3:(r)d/

  Rhymes: -ɜː(r)d

Noun

nerd (plural: nerds )

1. (slang, derogatory) A person who is technically highly skilled but lacks social skills.

Synonyms

• (socially unaccepted person): (all are slang and derogatory): dag (Australian), dork, dweeb, geek, loser

Derived terms

• nerdy

Translations

• Finnish: nörtti
• Japanese: オタク, おたく (otaku)
• Swedish: nörd c

See also

• Wikipedia article on nerds