The Meaning of Life (1914) & AIDS (1981-1982)

[Laurence Horn]

At 7:03 PM -0500 1/8/02, Fred Shapiro wrote:
>On Mon, 7 Jan 2002 Bapopik at AOL.COM wrote:
>
>>     I checked "AIDS" in OED, and the first citation is 24 September 1982.
>>  This seems late.
>
>Nexis has a slightly earlier citation (New York Times, 8 Aug. 1982).
>
>Fred Shapiro
>
That article makes it clear that the term must have already been well
established by 8 Aug. '82, with its references to the A.I.D.S.
Project (note the dots still used; the acronym hadn't yet become
AIDS) at the Center for Disease Control.  Perhaps the chronicles of
the disease (Randy Shilts's _And the Band Played On_, or one of the
more scholarly books) would have earlier cites, and a history of how
the term evolved.

larry