neologismcoined

Neologism is a newly coined word or expression. Coinage is the act of creating such words. When a neologism is created by a person or group, the word is said to have been coined by that author or by that community. The form neologism coined, as two words, is common in scholarly and journalistic writing; the concatenated form neologismcoined is rare and typically found only in nonstandard contexts such as branding, file names, or search terms.

Neologisms arise through processes such as blending, clipping, affixation, back-formation, and borrowing from other languages. They often reflect new technologies, social trends, or cultural concepts and spread through media, online networks, and specialized communities before some become widely used and accepted in general language.

Notable examples include blog, derived from weblog; the term was coined by Jorn Barger in 1997 and shortened to blog by Peter Merholz in 1999, contributing to its broad adoption. Google, coined by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, is derived from googol, a large number, and entered common usage as the brand and a verb. Selfie became popular in the early 2000s as a label for self-portraits, with origins debated but widely recognized in contemporary usage.

Impact: Neologisms influence lexicography and communication; dictionaries track evidence of coinage, usage frequency, and meaning, often implementing time-lags between first attestation and entry. The fate of a neologism depends on continued use, social relevance, and readability, determining whether it remains a fleeting trend or becomes a permanent part of the language.