Where does “nerdism” come from?
nerdism (English) comes from English nerd, from English nerts, from English nuts, from English nut, from Middle English nute, from Old English hnutu, from Proto-West Germanic hnut, from Proto-Germanic hnuts — to arise, begin.
nerdism (English): The practices or behaviours of nerds; nerdiness
Definitions
- The practices or behaviours of nerds; nerdiness
Ancestry of “nerdism”, step by step
nerdism traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English nerd
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | nerd | A person who is intellectual but generally... |
| 2 | English | nerts | Crazy; nuts; Nuts! Expression of dismay |
| 3 | English | nuts | plural of nut; Testicles; An unbeatable hand; the... |
| 4 | English | nut | A hard-shelled seed; A piece of metal, usually... |
| 5 | Middle English | nute | — |
| 6 | Old English | hnutu | nut |
| 7 | Proto-West Germanic | hnut | nut |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | hnuts | nut |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | knew- | to scrape; scratch; rub; to scratch; scrape; rub |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | ken- | to arise, begin |
via English ism
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | ism | An ideology, system of thought, or practice that... |
| 2 | English | -ism | Used to form nouns of action or process or result... |
| 3 | Latin | -ismus | -ism |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | -ισμός | Forms abstract nouns |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | -μός | Forms abstract nouns |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | -mós | Creates action/result nouns from verb stems |