AboutTed Nesbitt Expertise I have an interest in the meanings of words and phrases, as well as how and when they became part of the English language. I enjoy
researching idioms, colloquialisms, dialects, and obscurities of
all kinds. I prefer short questions on a particular subject, and
I will not accept lengthy research projects or term papers. NOTE: ALLEXPERTS CLAIMS THAT I TRANSLATE FROM ENGLISH TO LATIN AND FROM LATIN TO ENGLISH. I DO NOT. ALLEXPERTS REFUSES TO DELETE THE LATIN-TO-ENGLISH SERVICE -- ONE THAT I DO NOT PROVIDE.
TRUST ME ON THIS: ALLEXPERTS IS WRONG. I DO NOT TRANSLATE FROM ENGLISH TO LANGUAGE. LOOK FOR A LANGUAGE EXPERT INSTEAD. ETYMOLOGY AND TRANSLATING SERVICES ARE ENTIRELY DIFFERENT. ALLEXPERTS SHOULD KNOW THAT. ALLEXPERTS DOES NOT KNOW THAT. I HAVE TRIED FOR MANY YEARS TO GET THEM TO CHANGE. THEY WILL NOT. SORRY, BUT I DO NOT TRANSLATE FROM ENGLISH TO LATIN.
Experience I am the bibliographic instruction and reference librarian at a public
college. My master's thesis concerns William Faulkner's tragic novels. I formerly taught advanced placement English at two schools in the Philadelphia area.
I have been a member of the grammar and writing section of Allexperts
for more than a year.
Education/Credentials Masters degrees in English, philosophy, and library science.
Question Our pastor has mentioned that he thought the world "teenager" originated around 1950. One site mentioned 1921, but gave no details as to who used it. What's your spin on the world? Thanks in advance.
Answer Glen:
I am pasting in below the entries from "The Oxford English Dictionary," the most comprehensive compilation of the origin of words in the English language.
"Teenage" -- the adjective -- appeared in WRITTEN English in a Canadian publication in 1921. Note that the phrase is enclosed in quotation marks, indicating the "coining" of the term. Most words are used ORALLY before they are written down.
It was not until two decades later that the noun "teen-ager" appeared. At first, it was hyphenated, and then, as its usage was accepted, the hyphen was dropped, which is a very traditional way to deal with new words. [Example: At first, the county seat of government was called a "court house." Then it became "court-house," and finally, it became "courthouse."
So, your pastor is "close," just missing by nine years.
Ted Nesbitt
Teenager -- noun
1941 Pop. Sci. Monthly Apr. 223/2, I never knew teen-agers could be so serious. 1947 AUDEN Age of Anxiety (1948) i. 26 Tops in tests by teen-agers. 1952 M. STEEN Phoenix Rising ii. 38 Do we have to behave like a couple of hysterical 'teen-agers? 1960 K. AMIS Take Girl like You xxii. 260 Jenny thought to herself that here she was nearly twenty-one, and instead of having been a teenager all she had managed to do was spend a certain amount of time getting from the age of twelve to the age of twenty. 1962 Guardian 21 Sept. 11/7 He must be constantly new and different to be able to please the younger teenagers. And ‘teenagers’ start at the age of nine. 1980 Times Lit. Suppl. 15 Aug. 908/1 Teenagers, of course, had not been invented in the 1880s.
Teenage – adjective
1. Designating someone in their teens.
1921 Daily Colonist (Victoria, B.C.) 11 Mar. 8/2 All ‘teen age’ girls of the city are cordially invited to attend the mass meeting to be held this evening. 1935 Amer. Speech X. 192/1 The dress is probably slinky and suitable for the teen-age group. 1948 Evening Standard 22 Mar. 6/4 The teen-age twins..reject severe masculine fashions. 1957 Time 2 Sept. 62/2 Starting as a teen-age bank runner, he had become president of the Bank of Commerce. 1977 Dædalus Fall 83 Society may wish to eliminate teenage street corner gangs, but this does not lead sociologists to write articles on the optimal techniques for eliminating such gangs.
