Where does “nerd” come from?
Nerts is an exclamation derived from English nuts, which comes from the nut plant seed, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European newd- meaning to know or perceive.
nerd (English): A person who is intellectual but generally...
Definitions
- A person who is intellectual but generally...
Ancestry of “nerd”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | nerts | Crazy; nuts; Nuts! Expression of dismay |
| 2 | English | nuts | plural of nut; Testicles; An unbeatable hand; the... |
| 3 | English | nut | A hard-shelled seed; A piece of metal, usually... |
| 4 | Middle English | nute | — |
| 5 | Old English | hnutu | nut |
| 6 | Proto-West Germanic | hnut | nut |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | hnuts | nut |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | knew- | to scrape; scratch; rub; to scratch; scrape; rub |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | ken- | to arise, begin |