Language in motion

Which very popular word was invented by Charles Dickens? 10 made-up words

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As masters of language, writers sometimes find that their imagination and creativity go far beyond the vocabulary the world has to offer. In order to put their ideas into writing, they have to create new words that eventually become part of the dictionary. Here are 10 terms and expressions used in modern language that you probably didn’t know were invented by famous writers.

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Dr. Seuss’ talent for telling fantastic stories through rhymes is well known. But very few people know that the creator of The Grinch and The Cat in the Hat was also responsible for the existence of the word "nerd."

In his 1950 book, If I Ran the Zoo, a little boy daydreams about what kind of animals he would have if he were in charge of a hypothetical zoo: "a Nerkle, a Nerd and a Seersucker". Although the term described an imaginary being -and the exact origin of a slang word can never be certain- it’s believed it was later adopted by students to refer to anyone with superior intelligence but not many social skills.

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Nowadays, freelance work is very widespread, especially among young people. But did you know that the word "freelancer" originated in the 19th century? The term first appeared in the historical novel Ivanhoe by Scottish novelist, poet, and historian Sir Walter Scott.

In the book, published in 1819 but set in England in the Middle Ages, Scott refers to mercenaries free of all allegiance who offer their services to anyone willing to pay them to fight for any nation. Thus, from the mixture of the words "free" and "lancers" came the term that today is given to those who work independently rather than on a regular salary basis.

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Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines the word "pandemonium" as a "wild uproar" or "a chaotic situation". The origin of this word dates back to the 17th century. In 1667, English poet John Milton first used the term to name the capital of hell, home of the main character of his epic poem Paradise Lost.

"Pandemonium" is a combination of the Greek prefix pan-, which means "all", and the Late Latin daemonium, meaning "evil spirit". Although today we no longer use the term to refer to the actual location of Satan and the fallen angels, the word continues to describe an infernal place or situation.

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Nowadays, there is no doubt that the word "cyberspace" refers to the online world of computer networks. While it may seem that the term has been in our language forever, it was actually first used by American-Canadian speculative fiction writer William Ford Gibson in the 1982 short story Burning Chrome.

Two years later, the author expanded the concept in his novel Neuromancer to describe a fictitious computer network containing vast amounts of information that could be exploited for wealth and power. Ring a bell? "Cyberspace" has since become a widely used word in many languages.

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While the feeling of being bored must have existed since ancient times, the word for it was not put into writing until the mid-19th century. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the first written record of the word "boredom" appears in Charles Dickens' 1852 novel Bleak House.

However, some historians have found antecedents that predate Dickens use of the term. Lord Byron used "bores" and "bored" in his 1823 epic poem Don Juan. And a few years later, Herman Melville used other variations of the term, like "bore" and "bored to death". While we can’t be sure who wrote the word first, its literary origin is undeniable.

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"Serendipity" is known as a fortuitous and unforeseen finding or discovery, something that happened by chance but still has value. This term was coined in 1754 by British writer Horace Walpole. It derives from a traditional Persian story in which the princes of Serendip turn to chance to find the solution to their problems.

In this case, we can be absolutely sure that "serendipity" is a Walpole creation. The author himself explains how he conceived the term in one of the countless letters he wrote throughout his life. In those letters, we can find evidence that he invented at least 200 words, although most of them aren’t used in modern everyday language.

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In 1920, when he was writing his next work, Czech playwright Karel Čapek desperately needed an original word that could define human-like machines created by a company to fulfill the hard tasks that people no longer wanted to do.

The first name that came to Čapek’s mind was "labori", from the Latin labor, meaning "work". However, his brother Josef was not very convinced and suggested "roboti", inspired by the Czech word robota, meaning "servitude" or "hard work." In 1922, the term "robot" made its way into our language when the play R.U.R. was translated into English.

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Well, maybe he didn’t invent it, but we have Mark Twain to thank for first putting in writing the term "hard-boiled" in relation to human character. As a writer of local color, Twain often used colloquialisms and regionalisms that he heard from other people and, by writing them down, made them familiar to the entire population.

In this sense, while the expression was probably known in some circles, the father of American literature was the first to use it as an adjective meaning "emotionally hardened, devoid of sentimentality".

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Although it comes from ancient Greek, the word "utopia" in its current sense was first used in 1516. Inspired by the New World, English philosopher and author Sir Thomas More imagined a fictional island society where everything worked in harmony.

"Utopia" literally translates as "no place", coming from the Greek οὐ ("not") and τόπος ("place"). The term popularized by More became so widespread that, over time, its meaning changed and is now used not only to refer to a specific place but to describe perfect scenarios or thoughts that are hard to attain.

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One of the most important pieces of English literature is also responsible for the name of a popular social network. We’re talking about The Canterbury Tales, a collection of 24 stories written by Geoffrey Chaucer in the 14th century.

In one of the tales, the English poet coined the onomatopoeia "twitter" to refer to the soft singing of a caged bird crying out for freedom. The neologism was later included by the Oxford Dictionary as a "short burst of inconsequential information". Fast forward to the 21st century, and American Internet entrepreneur Jack Dorsey uses the term to refer to the short, frequent posts on his now-famous platform. That also explains why Twitter’s logo was a bird!

SUCCESS BEYOND SUCCESS

Did You Know These 10 Solo Artists Came Out Of Previous Bands?

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Breaking out on your own after having found massive success with a collective outfit is not a decision to be taken lightly. Many have done just that, and their careers have gone the way of the Dodo. But a handful of talented and lucky stars have been able to strike gold twice.

Read on and learn about ten incredibly successful performers who emerged from very popular bands of their day.

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Diana Ross might be a household name these days, but it wasn’t always the case. Once upon a time, there was a band called The Supremes. Then, management decided to switch it to Diana Ross and the Supremes.

While this went quite well for Diana and the commercial success of the band, it didn’t feel that way for the rest of the Supremes, whose egos were a bit bruised by the whole affair. Eventually, Ross would leave the group entirely, embarking on an extremely successful solo career, including several number-one hits.

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The Commodores was a hit band in the 1970s, and a big reason for that was the co-lead singer of the band, Lionel Richie, who had the voice and the talent to be a star in his own right.

Richie would head off to do his solo thing, and the success of the Commodores propelled his career. Hits like "All Night Long" and "Hello" made it clear that he could still get his groove on but also still drop a ballad on you.

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What do Derek and the Dominos, Cream, and the Yardbirds have in common, aside from cool 1960s hair? The answer is Mr. Slowhand himself, Eric Clapton. These bands enjoyed the talent and artistry of Mr. Clapton’s guitar, and when the time felt right, the axe man moved on to do his solo thing.

Aside from his early albums, Eric Clapton lost the rock sound to a degree and got more acoustic and mild, but the success remained, with classics that resonate to this day.

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Sure, everybody knows who Beyonce is these days. But there was a time when she was part of an ensemble of equals called Destiny’s Child. Granted, she was the leading girl of the group, but still, it was a band.

As the story goes, Beyonce left to pursue a solo career and rose to a fame level that had eluded the popular group she came from.

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A person who can play drums in a prog-rock giant band like Genesis and sing at the same time has some serious talent. Phil Collins had the chops and the attitude to front a band from behind the drumkit and even take it to an unprecedented level of fame and success.

When Phil left Genesis, he became one of the biggest solo artists of the ‘80s with a string of hits. He would eventually win an Oscar for Best Original Song as well.

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One of the greatest bands of the 1980s, The Police gave us quite a few hits, from Message in a Bottle to Every Breath You Take, Don’t Stand So Close To Me, King of Pain, etc. And, as if that wasn’t enough, the lead singer and bassist went on to become one of the most successful pop artists of all time.

Penning almost as many hits as with his old band, starring in films, fronting noble causes, and traveling all over the globe, Sting's career has been diverse. He has not only retained but also increased his popularity tenfold.

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You must have done something right in the music business if David Bowie is producing your solo albums. That is the case of Lou Reed, who started his public career as the frontman of The Velvet Underground, a highly artistic music act whose first album cover was painted by Andy Warhol (as you can see, good connections were a recurring theme in Reed’s life).

When he went solo, Bowie produced his iconic Transformer album, which had hits like Satellite of Love, Walk On The Wild Side, and more.

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Few musicians could aspire to invent a musical genre, but the "Prince of Darkness" was one of them. As the lead singer of Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne played a huge part in the development of heavy metal music.

And when the whole band thing didn’t cut it for him anymore, Ozzy went on a solo project that led to similar levels of success. Eventually, Ozzy and the guys from Black Sabbath made amends and played together again quite a few times.

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Even if you’ve never heard the name Fleetwood Mac, you’ve probably heard their songs. Their music is everywhere and righteously so since it is great. With her voice and stage charisma, Stevie Nicks was an instrumental part of their success.

Her 1981 debut solo album "Bella Donna" was a number-one album and went platinum four times over. In the following years, Nicks played and collaborated with legendary artists like Tom Petty, and made a name for herself beyond her previous band.

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The Jackson Five were a huge success in the early 70s. They had catchy songs, great voices, and the whole brother-band thing going on for them. Oh, and they had Michael Jackson.

There is no way to overstate the success Michael had in the 80s and 90s as a solo artist. Within 12 years, he released Off The Wall, Thriller, Bad, and Dangerous, four albums with more hit songs than most multi-decade bands could only dream of. Yes, he had already found success with his brothers, but as a solo artist, he rose to a different level altogether.