[Ads-l] Another 1969 Antedating of "Trekkie"

[Peter Reitan]

Trekker appears to have been in use among Star Trek fans as early as 1967.

"Trekker" used as name by Star Trek fans writing letters to newspapers in the Waterloo Courier (April 9, 1967, TV Showtime Section, page 6) and Philadelphia Inquirer (April 5, 1967, page 17).
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/28747826/the_courier/
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/28747771/the_philadelphia_inquirer/

A thread on a fanpage discusses the "technical" difference between a "trekkie" and a "trekker" and dates the distinction to at least 1970.  In a post by Methos (Fleet Captain), dated January 10, 2012:

"Trekkie is "frequently depreciative" and is thus "not an acceptable term to serious fans", who prefer Trekker. The distinction existed as early as May 1970, when the editor of fanzine Deck 6 wrote:

...when I start acting like a bubble-headed trekkie, rather than a sober, dignified—albeit enthusiastic—trekker.

By 1976, media reports on Star Trek conventions acknowledged the two types of fans:

One Trekkie came by and felt compelled to explain, while paying for his Mr. Spock computer image, that he was actually a Trekker (a rational fan). Whereas, he said, a Trekkie worships anything connected with Star Trek and would sell his or her mother for a pair of Spock ears.

In the 1991 TV show Star Trek: 25th Anniversary Special, Leonard Nimoy attempted to settle the issue by stating that the term 'Trekker' is the preferred term; during an appearance on Saturday Night Live to promote the 2009 Star Trek film, Nimoy—seeking to assure Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto, the "new" Kirk and Spock, that most fans would embrace them—initially referred to "Trekkies" before correcting himself and saying "Trekkers", emphasizing the second syllable"

https://www.trekbbs.com/threads/whats-the-difference-between-a-trekkie-and-a-trekker.187418/


------ Original Message ------
From: "ADSGarson O'Toole" <adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com>
To: ADS-L at listserv.uga.edu
Sent: 2/22/2019 7:46:31 PM
Subject: Re: Another 1969 Antedating of "Trekkie"

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Sender: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
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Subject: Re: Another 1969 Antedating of "Trekkie"
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I located some 1967 instances of Trekker via newspapers.com, but Peter
had already clipped them one hour earlier. So he will probably report
on them soon.


On Fri, Feb 22, 2019 at 8:56 PM Shapiro, Fred <fred.shapiro at yale.edu> wrote=
:

I meant to type "pointed ears."


Fred Shapiro



________________________________
From: Shapiro, Fred
Sent: Friday, February 22, 2019 8:54 PM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: Another 1969 Antedating of "Trekkie"


Trekkie (OED 1976)


1969 _Dayton Daily News_ 28 July 7/1 (Newspapers.com) No funny hats and =
rubber drunks at the Midwestcon. One or two fans of the television show, "=
Star Trek" -- called "Trekkies" -- showed up wearing pointed hears, but mis=
sing are the more obvious eccentrics the mass media mischief messengers lik=
e to write about.

Fred Shapiro


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