[MLUG - DISCUSSION] etymology of 'geek', 'nerd', etc.

[Mike Miller <EMAIL:PROTECTED>]

On Wed, 21 Feb 2001, rwd7ec wrote:

> NO, No, no! I had a discussion about this with a co-worker the
> otherday. We are not nerds. GEEKS is more like it...computer geeks to
> be exact. We came up with the conclusion that Nerds are Geeks without
> the intellectual bonus (For all you math geeks, NERD= GEEK - INT ie
> other engineering majors) We also came to the conclusion that Dorks
> are just more socially inept nerds (again, DORK= pr0n(Nerd - BOOTY) ).


I was just remembering another thing from my early years in engineering
school (at WPI in Worcester, MA).  Of course there were many 'geeks'
around, but we didn't call them that.  We called them "gweeps."  Now this
is going back 25 years, but apparently the term is still in use:

http://www.tuxedo.org/~esr/jargon/html/entry/gweep.html

I take exception to some of what is said in the jargon file.  I agree with
the idea that the term 'gweep' had to do with the sound of the terminal --
it's the sound of the beep that is produced when Ctrl-G is entered: thus
the 'g' in 'gweep.' At least that's what I believed at the time.  When I
was at WPI in 1976 the term was very well established and widely used.  
It was a *noun* -- a 'gweep' was a person who used the computer too much.  
It was a pejorative term, but used mostly with a sense of humor.  The verb
had to have come later.  So I think the jargon file should switch
definitions '1' and '2'.  It is possible that I am wrong and that the term
had undergone some evolution already by 1976, but I doubt it.

The word 'geek' is in the dictionary.  It's a carnival performer who bites
the heads off of chickens for money.  This generalized to Definition 2:
"any strange or eccentric person."  How 'geek' came to refer specifically
to computer enthusiasts is a little mysterious (I know we're strange and
eccentric), but I wonder if there is any connection with the term 'gweep.'
'Geek' and 'gweep' were both definitely pejorative, so maybe there is a
connection.  It is just possible that the historical reason why we use
'geek' for computer mavens is that Ctrl-G causes a beep on a computer.

'Nerd' is also in the dictionary.  According to my dictionary, the term
'nerd' was first used in the early 1960s.  Definition 2 is "a person
dedicated to a nonsocial pursuit: a computer nerd."  It seems like 'nerd'
has fallen out of fashion somewhat and 'geek' is taking its place.

Mike

-- 
Michael B. Miller
University of Missouri--Columbia
http://taxa.psyc.missouri.edu/~mbmiller/

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