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A neologism (; from Greek νέο- néo-, "new" and λόγος lógos, "speech, utterance") is the name for a relatively new or isolated term, word, or phrase that may be in the process of entering common use, but that has not yet been accepted into mainstream language.[1][2] Neologisms are often directly attributable to a specific person, publication, period, or event. Neolexia ("new word", or the act of creating a new word) is a synonym.
The term neologism is first attested in English in 1772, borrowed from French néologisme (1734).[3] A proponent of a new word or doctrine may be called a neologist. Neologists might study cultural and ethnic vernacular. A neologism may also be a new usage of an existing word,[4][5] sometimes called a semantic extension.[6][7] This is distinct from a person's idiolect, one's unique patterns of vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation.
In psychiatry, the term neologism is used to describe the use of words that have meaning only to the person who uses them, independent of their common meaning.[8] This tendency is considered normal in children, but in adults it can be a symptom of psychopathy[9] or a thought disorder (indicative of a psychotic mental illness, such as schizophrenia).[10] People with autism also may create neologisms.[11] Additionally, use of neologisms may be related to aphasia acquired after brain damage resulting from a stroke or head injury.[12]
In theology, a neologism is a relatively new doctrine (for example, Transcendentalism). In this sense, a neologist is one who proposes either a new doctrine or a new interpretation of source material such as religious texts.[13]
Neologisms may come from popular literature in different forms. Sometimes, they are simply taken from a word used in the narrative of a book; a few representative examples are "grok" (to achieve complete intuitive understanding), from Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein; "McJob," from Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture by Douglas Coupland; "cyberspace," from Neuromancer by William Gibson; and "nymphet" from Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov.
Other times the title of a book becomes the neologism, for instance, Nineteen Eighty-Four), "Kafkaesque" (from Franz Kafka, author and philosopher most renowned for The Metamorphosis) and "Ballardesque" or "Ballardian" (from J. G. Ballard, author of Crash). The word "sadistic" is derived from the cruel sexual practices Marquis de Sade described in his novels. Kurt Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle was the container of the Bokononism family of nonce words.
Another category is words derived from famous characters in literature, such as quixotic (referring to the titular character in Don Quixote de la Mancha by Cervantes), a scrooge (from the main character in Dickens's A Christmas Carol), or a pollyanna (from Eleanor H. Porter's book of the same name). James Joyce's Finnegans Wake, composed in a uniquely complex linguistic style, coined the words monomyth and quark.
Neologisms have been noted as instrumental in science fiction for their ability to defamiliarize the reader and create new worlds. William Gibson makes important use of neologism in his writing.[14]
These may be considered a variety of slang.
These neologisms are examples of genericised trademarks.
Cyberpunk, Sprawl trilogy, Bridge trilogy, Steampunk, Speculative fiction
Medicine, Schizophrenia, Psychology, Psychotherapy, Neuroimaging
Isaac Asimov, Starship Troopers, Variable Star, Libertarianism, World War II
William Gibson, Cybernetics, Space, Cyberpunk, Transhumanism
Discrimination, Armenian Genocide, Ethnic cleansing, World War II, International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia
Squid, Neologism, Particle physics, Biotechnology, Nanotechnology
Iceland, Icelandic language, Danish language, English language, Linguistic purism
Linguistics, Neologism, Pokémon, Hillary Clinton, Blend word
Scots language, Northern Ireland, County Donegal, United Kingdom, Ulster
Psychology, Psychiatry, Neologism, Agnosia, Dyslexia