nerd

nerd

also nurd  (nûrd)

n. Slang

1. A foolish, inept, or unattractive person.

2. A person who is single-minded or accomplished in scientific or technical pursuits but is felt to be socially inept.

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[Origin unknown.]

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nerd′y adj.

Word History: The first known occurrence of the word nerd, undefined but illustrated, dates from 1950 and is found in If I Ran the Zoo, a children's book by Dr. Seuss (Theodor Seuss Geisel). The book's narrator lists various imaginary creatures that he would keep in the zoo if he were allowed to run it, whatever objections other people might raise to his projects: "And then, just to show them, I'll sail to Ka-Troo And Bring Back an It-Kutch a Preep and a Proo A Nerkle a Nerd and a Seersucker, too!" (The nerd is a small humanoid creature looking comically angry.) The next known attestation of nerd appears in the October 8, 1951, issue of Newsweek, in which the slang of American youth is described: "In Detroit, someone who once would be called a drip or a square is now, regrettably, a nerd, or in a less severe case, a scurve." Authorities disagree on whether the two words—the name of Dr. Seuss's creature and the 1950s teenage slang term—are related. Some maintain that Dr. Seuss is the true originator of nerd and that the word nerd ("comically unpleasant creature") was picked up by the six-year-olds of 1950 and quickly passed on to their older siblings, who restricted and specified the meaning to the most comically obnoxious creature of their own class, a "square." Others claim that there is no connection between the two and propose other origins for nerd, such as an alteration of the word turd. It has also been suggested that nerd comes from Mortimer Snerd, the name of a dummy depicting a comically stupid yokel that was used by the American ventriloquist Edgar Bergen, one of the most popular performers of the 1930s and 1940s. In support of this theory, the noted scholar of American slang J.E. Lighter points out that Mortimer Snerd was used in a 1941 work as a nickname for a fellow of the kind that might today be called nerdy. Strong evidence for any of these theories is lacking, however, and the ultimate origin of nerd remains unknown.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

nerd

(nɜːd) or

nurd

n

1. a boring or unpopular person, esp one obsessed with something specified: a computer nerd.

2. a stupid and feeble person

ˈnerdish, ˈnurdish adj

ˈnerdy, ˈnurdy adj

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

nerd

(nɜrd)

n. Slang.

1. a dull, ineffectual, or unattractive person.

2. a person dedicated to a nonsocial pursuit: a computer nerd.

[1950–55; of obscure origin]

nerd′y, adj. nerd•i•er, nerd•i•est.

Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	nerd - an insignificant student who is ridiculed as being affected or boringly studious dweeb, grind, swot, wonk assimilator, learner, scholar - someone (especially a child) who learns (as from a teacher) or takes up knowledge or beliefs
	2.	nerd - an intelligent but single-minded expert in a particular technical field or profession expert - a person with special knowledge or ability who performs skillfully

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

nerd

nurd

noun (Slang)

1. bore, obsessive, anorak (informal), geek (informal), trainspotter (informal), dork (slang), wonk (informal), techie (informal) the outdated notion that users of the Internet are all sad computer nerds

2. fool, weed, drip (informal), sap (slang), wally (slang), sucker (slang), wimp (informal), booby, prat (slang), plonker (slang), twit (informal, chiefly Brit.), simpleton, dipstick (Brit. slang), schmuck (U.S. slang), divvy (Brit. slang), putz (U.S. slang), wuss (slang), eejit (Scot. & Irish), thicko (Brit. slang), dumb-ass (slang), doofus (slang, chiefly U.S.) No woman in her right mind would look twice at such a charmless little nerd.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

nerd

also nurd
noun

1. Slang. One deficient in judgment and good sense:

ass, fool, idiot, imbecile, jackass, mooncalf, moron, nincompoop, ninny, nitwit, simple, simpleton, softhead, tomfool.

Informal: dope, gander, goose.

Slang: cretin, ding-dong, dip, goof, jerk, schmo, schmuck, turkey.

2. Slang. An unpleasant, tiresome person:

bore.

Slang: drip, dweeb, jerk, pill, poop.

The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Translations

EigenbrötlerSonderlingSpack

nörtti

nörd

secchione

オタク

nerd

nerd

nerd

čudak

nörd

nerd

[nɜːd] N → pazguato/a m/f

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

nerd

[ˈnɜː^rd] n → binoclard(e) m/f boutonneux/euse
computer nerd → informaticien boutonneux
the notion that users of the Internet are all sad computer nerds → la notion selon laquelle les utilisateurs d'Internet sont tous de tristes informaticiens boutonneux

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

nerd

n (inf) → Dumpfbacke f (sl); computer nerd → Computerfreak m (inf)

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

nerd

[nɜːd] n (fam, pej) → sfigato/a

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995