European Geeks/Nerds?

[Michael Quinion]

Peter A McGraw wrote:

> I'm not sure I know all the connotations of "geek" and "nerd," but
> there is, or  was, a British term "swot," whose semantic range
> seems at least to intersect with these.  It means (or meant)
> something like 'studyoholic', and "swotting" means 'really hitting
> the books'.  Some of our British listers may be able to shed better
> light on this word.

"Swot" (derived from "sweat") does have that meaning, and is a deeply
pejorative term. It is now somewhat passe, being a term more in use
by the grandfathers of current school-age persons than by the present
generation. There was a fashion for "boffin" some 20 years ago with
similar meaning, but I don't know what the current term is.

Regarding an earlier message, I would say that "anorak" is - or was:
my impression is that this, too, has rather fallen out of fashion - a
term for a person deeply or obsessively engaged in some pursuit or
hobby that is regarded as of no significance - trainspotting was the
archetypal such activity, for which anoraks were essential outerwear
on cold station platforms. I have to confess that for a while, aged
12, I was a trainspotter, though this was before the days of anoraks,
and it was an acceptable hobby at that age. It's the adult ones that
were thought odd ...


--
Michael Quinion
Editor, World Wide Words
E-mail: <TheEditor at worldwidewords.org>
Web: <http://www.worldwidewords.org/>