Nerd

Nerd is a noun often used as an insult, to describe people who are seen as weird, obsessive or introverted.

Origin

Dr. Seuss created the word "nerd" in his 1950 children's book If I Ran the Zoo. In the book, the main character says he'll find fictional animals and put them in an imaginary zoo, including “a Nerkle, a Nerd, and a seersucker too”. By 1951, people were using the word as another for "square," which was a popular insulting slang word at the time, according to a Newsweek article. [1]

Use over time

In 1957, the Sunday Mail in Glasgow, Scotland published an article called “ABCs for squares” explaining slang. It said “nerd” meant “a square. Any explanation needed?” [2]

In the 1970, an American magazine called Current Slang said that a “nurd” was “someone with objectionable habits or traits. An uninteresting person. A dud.” [3]Then the word "nerd" was routinely used on the television sitcom Happy Days. As a result, use of the word became extremely popular throughout the United States. [4]In 1984, a movie called Revenge of the Nerds used comedy for social commentary.[5]

A number of fictional characters have been described as nerds, including Dilton Doiley [6], Peter Parker, [7]Milhouse Van Houten [8]and Hermione Granger.[9]

People labeled as nerds tend to be bullied in school more often than others are.[10]