Browsing page 1 of new words for January 9, 2016

noun

• unsociable, smart person
  • See more words with the same meaning: a nerd, geek, dork.

  Last edited on Dec 01 2005. Submitted by Sharon J. from Coeur d'Alene, ID, USA on Dec 01 2005.

• a clever but socially awkward person

  Don't waste time with those guys - they're all nerds.

  • See more words with the same meaning: a nerd, geek, dork.

  Last edited on Feb 13 2006. Submitted by Robbie G. from Stroud, Hampshire, UK on Feb 13 2006.

origin

• Regarding the "unsociable, smart person" definition:
  
  One folk etymology that was popular during the 1970s goes that "nerd" was originally spelled "knurd". "Knurd" was "drunk" (i.e. intoxicated by alcohol) spelled backwards. In other words: a person who was a "knurd" was the opposite of a "drunk".
  
  This and other proposed etymologies were collected and published in an article "Origins of the Word 'Nerd'" by John C. Dvorak, published in PC Magazine, Volume 6 Number 10.

  Last edited on Jan 09 2016. Submitted by Anonymous on Jan 09 2016.