What Is a Neologism?
A neologism is a newly created word or phrase that has not yet been widely accepted into a language. A neologism can be created in response to new cultural or technological developments, or to fill gaps in the lexicon for concepts that were previously unnamed.
The Form of a Neologism
A neologism will usually be one of the following forms:
- A completely new word (e.g., oversharers)
- A new combination of existing words (e.g., digital detox)
- A new meaning for an existing word (e.g., sick)
- An abbreviation or acronym (e.g., FOMO (Fear Of Missing out))
- Oversharers: People who post too much information (which is often boring or embarrassing) about themselves on line.
- Digital Detox: Abstaining from electronic devices to re-engage with the physical world, typically to lower stress levels.
- Sick: Good.
- FOMO: FOMO is the need to remain engaged with others’ activities to ensure you do not miss out on something fun, exciting, beneficial, or profitable.
- D’oh!: An exclamation meaning damn (usually after a mistake by the speaker).
- Wicked: Good or cool.
- To Google: To look up information on the internet.
- Metrosexual: A heterosexual man who likes the interests traditionally associated with women or homosexual men (e.g., shopping, fashion, his appearance) .
- Noob: A person new to an online gaming community.
- Staycation: A vacation at home or near home (usually due to financial constraints preventing a holiday abroad).
- Troll: A person who posts obnoxious comments to an online community.
- Plug-and-play employee. Someone who doesn’t need training.
