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 I am lookingfor the oldest use of the word geek inthe english (or old) language. Can you help?
Answer Ben:
"The Oxford English Dictionary" is the universally accepted resource for finding the earliest usage of words and phrases. These usages are WRITTEN. For most words, their ORAL appearance occurred before they were written down.
"Geek" as a noun was first used by F. K Robinson in 1876.
The American "beatnik" author, Jack Kerouac, first used the word in the sense of a "nerd" or "bookish person" in letter he wrote in 1957.
"Geek" is also used as a verb, but that usage is unusual. The noun form is the usual way it is used.
There is some speculation that the word was coined, because of its sound, relating it to "freak." However, there is no proof that this connection is actual -- only speculation.
I am pasting in the below the COMPLETE entries for "geek" -- as a noun and as a verb -- from "The Oxford English Dictionary."
Ted Nesbitt
NOUN
1. slang (chiefly U.S.). a. orig. Eng. regional (north.). A person, a fellow, esp. one who is regarded as foolish, offensive, worthless, etc.
1876 F. K. ROBINSON Gloss. Words Whitby, Gawk, Geek, Gowk or Gowky, a fool; a person uncultivated; a dupe. 1908 H. C. FISHER in San Francisco Examiner 28 Apr. 13 (comic strip) A geek who spends his spare time making Czar removers was slammed into the city cooler. 1916 Wells Fargo Messenger Oct. 29/2 A new Wells agent struck our town the other week, and say you never saw a more enthusiastic geek! 1951 N. ALGREN Chicago (2001) v. 59 The jungle hiders come softly forth: geeks and gargoyles, old blown winos, sour stewbums and grinning ginsoaks. 1971 H. S. THOMPSON Let. 1 June in Fear & Loathing in Amer. (2000) 393 The Aspen zip code is 81611. These hamwit geeks go crazy when they get something addressed to two different postal areas. 1986 C. MATHESON & E. SOLOMON Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (film script) 86 Freud. (to the girls) Hi, I'm Sigmund Freud. The girls giggle some more. Freud. (stroking his goatee) You both seem to be suffering from a mild form of hysteria. Girl #1. (to Freud) You geek. 2001 C. GLAZEBROOK Madolescents 173 The Elbow's heaving with bimboids and geeks who work in banks and stuff.
b. Freq. depreciative. An overly diligent, unsociable student; any unsociable person obsessively devoted to a particular pursuit (usually specified in a preceding attrib. noun). Cf. NERD n.
1957 J. KEROUAC Let. 1 Oct. in Sel. Lett. 1957-69 (1999) 66 Unbelievable number of events almost impossible to remember, including..Brooklyn College wanted me to lecture to eager students and big geek questions to answer. 1980 E. A. FOLB Runnin' down some Lines 239 Geek, studious person. 1991 S. J. GOULD Bully for Brontosaurus vi. 96 Any kid with a passionate interest in science was a wonk, a square, a dweeb, a doofus, or a geek. 1992 Sports Illustr. 14 Dec. 38/1 The article is a nine-page compilation of photos, diagrams and written arcana, which only a football geek could love. 2001 Heat 17 Nov. 83/1 The acerbic Enid starts hanging out with the middle-aged record-collecting geek Seymour.
c. spec. A person who is extremely devoted to and knowledgeable about computers or related technology.
In this sense, esp. when as a self-designation, not necessarily depreciative.
1984 Bye in net.jokes (Usenet newsgroup) 20 Feb., I was a lonely young computer geek With a program due 'most every week. 1989 C. STOLL Cuckoo's Egg xlvi. 242 Why are you trying to catch some poor computer geek who's just fooling around? 1993 R. RUCKER et al. Mondo 2000 122/1 Geek is the proud, insider term for nerd. If you are not a dedicated techie, don't use this word. 2001 Independent 4 June II. 9/1 We're the nerds, the geeks, the dweebs: the men and women who can spend 20 hours straight contemplating 600 bytes of obscure, arcane, impenetrable computer code.
2. U.S. slang. A performer at a carnival or circus whose show consists of bizarre or grotesque acts, such as biting the head off a live animal.
1919 Billboard (Cincinnati) 25 Oct. 74/4 (advt.) At Liberty Snake charmer or geek man; would like to join show going south. 1935 Amer. Mercury June 229 Geek, a degenerate who bites off the heads of chickens in a gory cannibal show. 1948 N.Y. Times Bk. Rev. 7 Mar. 25 An amiable alcoholic who keeps a real live chicken-eating geek in his garden. 1961 Times Lit. Suppl. 27 Jan. 62/2 He..enslaves a ‘geek’, a dumb sideshow stooge whose daily routine consists of being exhibited in a pit which he has to dig for himself. 1975 R. DAVIES World of Wonders (1977) I. viii. 130, I was compelled to exhibit Willard as a geek... You lecture for a while on the yearning of the geek for raw flesh. 2001 H. BONE (title) Side show: My life with geeks, freaks & vagabonds in the carny trade.
VERB
1. intr., and trans. with it. To give up, to back down; to lose one's nerve. Also with out.
1935 A. J. POLLOCK Underworld Speaks 44/2 Geek it, to quit on a job; lose nerve. 1938 D. RUNYON Take it Easy (1945) 156, I put him with this punching bag, Joe Grosher, in Newark, and my guy geeks it the first good smack he gets. 1950 San Francisco Examiner 26 June 31/8 It can't be said that Citation [sc. a racehorse] geeked it once Noor came out of the weeds. He accepted every issue and gave it his best. 1984 J. VARLEY in S. Williams Hugo & Nebula Award Winners from Asimov's Sci. Fiction (1995) 200 The councilman might geek if they got him in front of a grand jury. 1986 A. GREELEY God Game (1987) xiv. 274 He was a physically strong man, capable on the record of decisive action, personal heroism and spectacular performance in bed. Why had he geeked out?
2. intr. To work as a geek in a circus or carnival (GEEK n. 2). Also trans. (of a geek): to bite the head off (an animal) during a performance.
1946 W. L. GRESHAM Nightmare Alley 6 How do you ever get a guy to geek?.. I mean, is a guy born that way liking to bite the heads off chickens? 1961 G. FORBES Goodbye to Some 83 Sure mister, I'll geek, till something better comes along. 1970 R. DAVIES Fifth Business (1977) VI. vii. 260 Not a nice life..but if it is the only way to keep yourself in morphia, you'd rather geek than have the horrors. 1989 K. DUNN Geek Love I. i. 6 When she caught those ugly squawking hens you couldn't believe she'd actually do anything. When she went right ahead and geeked 'em that whole larruping crowd went bonzo wild.
3. trans. With up. To excite or stimulate (a person); to make (a person) nervous or jittery. Cf. *GEEKED a. 1.
1984 Knoxville (Tennessee) Jrnl. 6 Oct. B2 It always used to geek me up when we were facing third-and-one or first-and-goal, and they would send me in to get it. 1992 USA Today 12 May C3/4 He wanted to geek up his guy. He knows Jimmy knows his stuff, he just needs a chance to show it. What better time than in this situation, with everybody watching, with everything on the line. 1994 Vibe Nov. 116/2 When I have the opportunity to combine the music with the words with the scenery behind it, it kinda geeks me up.
4. intr. With out. To behave like a geek; esp. (in Computing) to engage (esp. temporarily and inappropriately) in technical discussions, perform a technically complicated task, etc. Cf. *GEEKED a. 2.
1990 Righting Words Spring 11/2 Geek out, to study hard. 1991 E. S. RAYMOND New Hacker's Dict. 175 Geek out, to temporarily enter techno-nerd mode while in a non-hackish context... Especially used when you need to do something highly technical and don't have time to explain: ‘Pardon me while I geek out for a moment.’ 1995 D. COUPLAND Microserfs (1996) I. 27 On the way back we read the Riot Act and said that Bug had to stop geeking out and learn to enculturate. 2000 N.Y. Times 1 Aug. E5/4 Not to geek out on you..but back in 1986 a standard work station cost $65,000, plus $34,000 for the software... Now, you can get 10 times the power in a $7,000 computer.
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