#Microblog Monday 274: Time Traveler
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Have you played with Merriam-Webster’s Time Traveler? It’s a feature on the site that tells you which words were first used in print during any year.
For example, in 1974, the words “direct deposit,” “guilt-trip,” “Higgs boson,” “smoking gun,” and “transgender” were all used in print for the first time.
Also “agony aunt,” which means that Downton Abbey wouldn’t have been calling their agony aunt an “agony aunt” back then. Hmmm… Though Merriam-Webster explains: “The date most often does not mark the very first time that the word was used in English. Many words were in spoken use for decades or even longer before they passed into the written language. The date is for the earliest written or printed use that the editors have been able to discover.”
What are five words from the year you were born?
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10 comments
You gave 5 examples from the year I was born. So, I second those examples. Thanks. 🙂
This is absolutely fascinating, and I am so thankful you alerted me to this tool.
Off to check out the words that became official the same year I did.
This is fascinating.. Some from my year:
HIV
ozone hole
zygote intrafallopian transfer
prion disease
Hep D
How cheerful.
Very cool! From my list (ummm, can you tell that I’m probably older than most of you here??):
AA battery
affirmative action
anti-depressant
anti-harassment
A-OK
Black Friday
chocoholic
compassion fatigue
computer science
direct marketing
fettucine Alfredo
fiber-optic
holidays
Jack Russell terrier
lip-synch
mai-tai
military-industrial complex
paparazzo
power broker
prioritize
satellite television
solar panel
soul music
surf and turf
toaster oven
wayback machine
work-around
There were waaay too many! I fear if I list them I’ll give away my age! LOL! [My students are always trying to use sneaky ways of finding out my age. This might be one of them]. LOL!
Ha! I love this. Mine include:
Belgian waffle / Yakitori / Fish finger
Speed reading
Soft-core
Business Class
Oval Office (I know I’m older than most here, but I would have thought that this one would have predated me by several hundred years!)
I think I’m going to have to write a blog post about this!
Ack, I hate how far down I have to scroll! My chosen 5 from 1976:
Butterfly effect
Couch potato
Killer bee
Pooper-scooper
Wannabe
Fascinating looking back!
Heyyyyy! Look at me with IVF!
My list is vaguely depressing. Good thing that’s the year of lorazepam!
I was expecting things like lunar module, but instead got DUI. And ATV. And Sport Utility Vehicle. That was a weird experience.
Hello, Mel! Some of my words were surprisingly modern since it was from the late 60s: Alt key, blind carbon copy, data mining, hybrid computer, magnet school, word processor, yo, and urban legend . That was fun!
This is interesting. All of the words seem like they shouldn’t almost be 40 years old.
401(k)
air guitar
camo
chill out
comb-over
Euro (didn’t go into circulation until 1999)
high five
homeschool
post-traumatic stress disorder
self-tanner
veg out
voice mail
wind farm
yuppie
ziplock