Some Neologisms from Recent Magazines

NOT long ago, an American magazine of considerable repute made an attempt to collect from its readers such home-coined words as they felt filled gaps in our poverty-stricken language; and one might infer determination on the part of the editor to put these neologisms into immediate currency. But even an editor cannot force neologisms on the public without its consent. More recently, Time-a periodical noted for its coinages-has gone to work in quite different way. In its attempts to enliven the world's news for its readers, it coins such words as it feels are needed, or gives currency to the coinages which have appeared in other periodicals; these coinages are usually self-explanatory, and it is possible that some of them at any rate will creep into general use-though the editors are presumably not concerned about the future of their facetioe. Not all of these neologisms are fabricated in the editorial office; some are created for the moment only, and will be forgotten as soon as they cease to be timely; many are frankly humorous. A few are blends, or words -others are coined in other ways, but almost all have recognized word as base. I have culled, as examples, about three score from recent issues and from other periodicals. In few cases (cf. musnud and tycoon), word already in the dictionaries is given new meaning, or resurrected with new connotation. Such coinage as Hoovercrat (meaning, a Democrat who voted for the Republican Hoover) has already spread to other periodicals; though Hoover is used in full, the word suggests the portmanteau variety because the suffix -crat does not mean what it usually does, but represents the end of Democrat; and further because it compresses

Linguistics · Neologism · Lexicography and Language Studies · History · Philosophy

• Movers as early adopters of linguistic innovation

  Open Access•R Urbatsch•Journal of Sociolinguistics•2015

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