A YEAR AGO I PROMISED YOU A POST ON THE ORIGIN OF THE WORD NERD. HERE GOES.
Merriam-Webster defines nerd as: an unstylish, unattractive, or socially inept person; especially : one slavishly devoted to intellectual or academic pursuits <computer nerds> ."
I take issue with this definition, as many before me have. This definition of nerd is so arbitrary, yet every person in our culture hears the word and conjures an image of Steve Urkel or that one kid you knew in high school who didn't bathe and spent every waking hour gaming on his PC.
As Benjamin Nugent so eloquently points out in American Nerd: The Story of My People, "If an art critic arrives at your get-together in khakis and an undershirt, helps himself to six fingers of Jameson, tries to flirt with your teenage daughter, and then urinates with the bathroom door open, he's behaving like a socially awkward intellectual and exhibiting a pronounced disengagement with fashion and physical fitness."
Based on the definition of nerd, Nugent's description of the slimy art critic fits the bill, too, even though it's not your traditional conception of the word. Why is that? Why is it that we immediately apply our pre-conceived notions to the word nerd?
There is a stigma that goes along with the word nerd in our culture. Two stigmas, really. It is either a) used pejoratively or b) worn like a badge of honor because nerd pride and because, as Tyrion reminds us:
I consider either of these uses of nerd a stigma because I so strongly believe that words are only words; they don't have power unless it's given to them. And by using nerd derogatorily, or proudly, you're giving it undue power.
As John Green so poetically points out, “Saying 'I notice you're a nerd' is like saying, 'Hey, I notice that you'd rather be intelligent than be stupid, that you'd rather be thoughtful than be vapid, that you believe that there are things that matter more than the arrest record of Lindsay Lohan. Why is that?' In fact, it seems to me that most contemporary insults are pretty lame. Even 'lame' is kind of lame. Saying 'You're lame' is like saying 'You walk with a limp.' Yeah, whatever, so does 50 Cent, and he's done all right for himself.”
So. Alright. I'm ranting. WHERE DID THE WORD COME FROM. It had to have come from somewhere if we're all so friggen hive-minded about what a nerd is. I feel like the stereotype came before the definition.
My initial Google search returns the results: "1950s of origin unknown." Not acceptable. So I have turned to my old friend, Wiki, because despite what my college profs would have me believe, I trust her. And I have not been let down.
The very first usage of nerd is documented in Dr.Seuss's 1950 publication of If I Ran the Zoo. The narrator declares he would like to collect "a Nerkle, a Nerd, and a Seersucker" for his imaginary zoo. It spread quickly, apparently, as in 1951, Newsweek reported its usage as popular slang for "drip" or "square." (Apparently "drip" was slang for a boring person. I'm totally bringin' that back.) Somehow, by the 60s, it went from describing a boring person to describing people who were bookish and lacked social skills. THEN. THEN (this is the best part) the spelling changed at one point from nerd to nurd, which was an adaptation of knurd, WHICH IS DRUNK SPELLED BACKWARDS. Drunk spelled backwards to depict people who studied instead of partied. I can't even...HOW DID WE GET HERE.
Happy Days. Happy Days is how we got here. Because the term was used heavily in the show and became more derogatorily mainstream as a result. Arguably, there are more Richie Cunninghams and Potsies in the world than there are Fonzies. But, hey, we can't all be The Fonz.
Sit on it.
