🇩🇪German Source WordCode: DE

Nerd

Pronunciation / Transliteration: Nerd

🇬🇧 Direct English Meaning:
Geek/ɡiːk/
nounadjectiveCEFR B2 (Upper)Top #4500 frequency
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🇩🇪 Example Sentence in German:

"Er ist ein absoluter Technik-Nerd."

Comprehensive Definitions & Senses

2 senses
As noun
  1. 1

    A person who is knowledgeable about and excessively devoted to a particular hobby or intellectual pursuit, especially in technology, science, or gaming.

    "He is a computer geek who can fix any hardware issue in minutes."
  2. 2

    An unfashionable or socially inept person.

    "She felt like an awkward geek during her early high school years before finding her close-knit group of friends."

Thesaurus & Semantic Spectrum

Antonyms & Contrasting Words (1)

Linguistic Origin & Historical Etymology

Originating in the early 20th century as a North American dialect term meaning a carnival performer who performed bizarre acts, it derived from the northern English dialect word 'geek' or 'gik', meaning a fool or worthless person. Over the decades, the term underwent a significant semantic reversal, shifting from a derogatory insult for a social misfit to a badge of pride for individuals deeply passionate about technology, science, and niche intellectual pursuits, largely popularized by characters like Sheldon Cooper.

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