“Nerd” Defined, Not Derided

Nerd pride has come a long way. The once-derided nerd attire of bow ties, suspenders, and thick glasses are now acclaimed as ‘nerd chic’ on fashion sites, while The Big Bang Theory and Nerd Nite events are attracting enthusiasts worldwide.

While nerd pride may now be reaching a new hay day, Andy Boyd ’87 believes Revenge of the Nerds ushered in its true high point. In the now classic scene, the film’s nerds stand up against the jocks declaring their pride in being nerds.

Boyd remembers watching the scene in 10-250 with fellow engineers. “Next thing you knew, all these students start jumping up from their seats and walking up to the lecture area saying ‘I’m a nerd and I’m proud to be a nerd.’”

But where did the actual term ‘nerd’ originate, and how did it take on such a popular place in our modern lexicon?

Andy Boyd ’87 summarized some of the theories of this term in a recent Engines of Our Ingenuity radio show produced by Houston Public Media. He drew from a PC Magazine article by John Dvorak, which asked readers to share their favorite theories. Here are the top seven:

1. Derived from Mortimer Snerd: Snerd was a famously slow-witted dummy of ventriloquist Edgar Bergen. The popular pair hit the vaudeville circuit in radio and movies, making appearances from the 1930s until 1971.

2. Ne’er-do-well: Some lexicologists suggest that nerd originated as a contraction of the archaic phrase ne’er-do-well.

3. Nert: Instead of the term ‘nuts’—considered much too vulgar a term for public use—nert was used as the polite alternative during the 1930s.

4.  Northern Electric R&D: Boyd noted that employees in the research and development department of Northern Electric, now Nortel, were rumored to wear pocket protectors labeled N.E.R.D.

5. K-n-u-r-d: Knurd, or drunk spelled backwards, might be the original spelling of nerd. Dvorak’s readers contended that because knurds were too busy studying, they never took part in drinking activities. They were always sober, or drunk backwards.

6. Gnerd: According to PC Magazine reader Arthur Satarain nerd was originally an acronym standing for “gross, nervous, evasive, repulsive, and disgusting.”

7. Dr. Seuss: Perhaps the most likely origin story for nerd comes from Dr. Seuss’ 1950 book If I Ran the Zoo in which Seuss refers to an animal as “a nerkle, a nerd, and a seersucker, too.”

Did we miss an origin theory? Send us yours in the comments below.