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nerd

noun
/nɜːd/UK/nɝːd/US/neɹd/

Etymology

Unknown. Attested since 1951 as US student slang. * Perhaps an alteration of nerts (“nuts", "crazy”); see references below. * The word, capitalized, appeared in 1950 in Dr. Seuss’s If I Ran the Zoo as the name of an imaginary animal: *: And then, just to show them, I’ll sail to Katroo / And bring back an It-Kutch, a Preep and a Proo, / A Nerkle, a Nerd and a Seersucker too! * Possibly a rebracketing of inert as a nert, as in he's inert = he's a nerd, in reference to one's lack of competence or athletic ability. * Various unlikely folk etymologies and less likely backronymic speculations also exist.

Definitions

  1. A person who is intellectual but generally introverted.

    • The bullies used to call him a nerd at school.

  2. One who has an intense, obsessive interest in something.

    • a computer nerd
    • a comic-book nerd

  3. A member of a subculture revolving around intellectualism, technology, video games,…

    A member of a subculture revolving around intellectualism, technology, video games, fantasy and science fiction, comic books and assorted media.

  4. ›+ 3 more definitions

    1. One who is stupid and socially inept or unattractive

      One who is stupid and socially inept or unattractive; a social outcast.

      • ALICE: Prithee , what might a nerd be ? GLORIA: A nerd is an idiot or other person absurd.
      • To much of the world, we in America are nerds. We don't understand the world we live in.
      • "You're a nerd, Jake, a nerd. You're stupid. You're clumsy. You're dirt, Jake. You're nothing."

    2. Initialism of nonerosive reflux disease.

    3. Alternative form of NERDS.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for nerd. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA