Let’s look at two commonly used neologisms: ‘hipster’ and ‘nerd.’ Both are recognizable and like many words, they invoke clear images that anyone can recognize. For this reason, I’d like to argue that ‘hipster’ and ‘nerd’ are completely accurate and don’t need redefinition.
I came to this conclusion after hearing someone refer to themselves as a nerd. The person didn’t seem very nerd-like — at least not to me — so I had to ask myself ‘what is a nerd?’ I found that ‘nerd’ is just another word for an enthusiast.
Then I consulted Oxford Dictionaries and found that there are two primary definitions: “a foolish or contemptible person who lacks social skills or is boringly studious” and “a single-minded expert in a particular technical field.”
Suddenly, ‘nerd’ became more synonymous with the word pedant. But the person who referred to themselves as a nerd wasn’t a pedant (even though by now I have proven myself to be one). They were in fact just a foolish and contemptible person, so their use of the word was accurate.
So, in order to be a nerd, one doesn’t need to be pedantic like me; one only needs to be contemptible. When the specific meaning of nerd fails, it can be used as a catch-all insult, and being so, it has entered the pantheon of other four-letter insults.
Then I heard the word ‘hipster’ in reference to someone who indeed appeared to have put a lot of time and money into the way they were dressed. In my mind, a hipster was a person who tried to be popular by following what is hip. The individual who was called a hipster wasn’t necessarily trying to be popular but did seem to want to be hip.
I consulted the Oxford Dictionaries web site again and found that the definition of the word hipster is “a person who follows the latest trends and fashions, especially those regarded as being outside the cultural mainstream.”
Since the person in question was not dressed like most of the other people around, I could deduce that the fashion they had put so much effort into was outside the cultural mainstream and therefore, they were the dictionary definition of a ‘hipster.’
But I still wasn’t satisfied. I would let the Oxford English Dictionary have the final word. I searched ‘hipster’ in the OED and found the definition is “one who is hip” — a tautology. Then I searched ‘nerd’ and found the definition is relatively the same as the Oxford Dictionary’s web site.
In conclusion, it seems that these two words are in different phases of development, but they each serve a purpose.
When you use one of these words, be aware of what it means and don’t use it to hurt someone’s feelings. Words like ‘hipster’ and ‘nerd’ might have been insults once, but over time they have become more versatile. We should use them with accuracy and care, because they are funny words.
