Definition · Plain-language
Neologism
A neologism is a newly coined word or expression that is in the process of entering common use, such as selfie, staycation or doomscrolling.
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New words entering the language
The word neologism comes from Greek roots meaning "new word". A neologism is a term that has been coined recently and is still felt to be new — it has not yet settled into the everyday vocabulary recorded without comment in dictionaries. Language constantly generates them to name new technologies, experiences and ideas: blog, emoji, selfie and ghosting were all neologisms within living memory. Some are deliberate coinages by writers, scientists or marketers; many arise spontaneously and spread through media and social networks. A neologism that gains wide, lasting use eventually stops being new and becomes an ordinary word.
How neologisms are formed
Neologisms arise through every word-building process the language offers. Blending gives portmanteaus such as brunch and motel; borrowing imports words from other languages; derivation adds affixes to existing roots (to google, googling); and eponyms turn names into words. Others come from clipping (app from application), acronyms (radar), or simply giving an old word a new meaning, as mouse gained its computing sense. Brand names sometimes become generic neologisms when a trademark slips into everyday use. Because so many routes exist, new words appear continually, though only a fraction take root.
From neologism to dictionary
Lexicographers track neologisms and admit them to dictionaries once they show evidence of widespread, sustained use across varied sources. Many neologisms never make it — slang and faddish coinages often vanish within a few years. Major dictionaries publish lists of new entries periodically, marking the moment a neologism is judged to have entered the standard language. Until then, a neologism may be flagged as informal, slang or "new". The line between a neologism and an established word is therefore a matter of degree and time: what is a striking new coinage in one decade is unremarkable in the next.
Key facts
At a glance
- Definition: a newly coined word, phrase or meaning entering a language
- Origin: Greek neos (new) + logos (word)
- Examples: selfie, staycation, doomscrolling, ghosting
- Formed by: blending, borrowing, derivation, clipping, eponyms
- Tracked by: lexicographers, for possible dictionary inclusion
- Fate: may become standard, stay slang, or fall out of use
Common misconceptions
What people often get wrong
Often heard: A neologism is any word you have not heard before.
Actually: A neologism is genuinely new to the language as a whole, not merely new to one person. A word can be unfamiliar to you yet long-established and recorded plainly in dictionaries.
Often heard: Once a word is in the dictionary it is still a neologism.
Actually: Inclusion in a dictionary usually marks the point at which a word is accepted as established. A neologism is new and not yet fully settled; wide, lasting dictionary use is a sign it has stopped being one.
Often heard: Neologisms are only formed by blending words.
Actually: Blending is just one route. Neologisms also arise through borrowing, adding affixes, clipping, acronyms, eponyms and giving old words new meanings.
Going deeper
