Coining (linguistics) facts for kids
A protologism is a brand new word that someone has just started using. Think of it like a word that's still in its "baby" stage. It might be used by a small group of people, but it hasn't become widely known or accepted yet. If a protologism becomes more popular and appears in books, websites, or especially dictionaries, it then becomes a neologism (a new word). A word that's in between being super new (a protologism) and a recognized new word (a neologism) is sometimes called a prelogism.
How New Words Are Born
Protologisms are the very first step in how new words, called neologisms, come into our language. Someone creates a protologism because they feel there's a missing word for something. They hope it will catch on and become a regular word.
For example, the word "protologism" itself was once a protologism! It was created in 2003 by an American writer named Mikhail Epstein. He made up the word to describe exactly what it is: a freshly made word that isn't widely accepted yet.
Mikhail Epstein explained his idea like this:
I suggest calling such brand new words 'protologisms' (from Greek protos, meaning 'first, original' and Greek logos, meaning 'word'). A protologism is a freshly minted word not yet widely accepted. It is a verbal prototype, which may eventually be adopted for public service or remain a whim of linguo-poetic imagination.
Epstein believed that every single word we use today started out as a protologism. Then it became a neologism, and slowly, over time, it became a regular part of our language.
Why Some New Words Stick Around
There isn't a strict rule for when a protologism becomes a widely accepted new word. According to Kerry Maxwell, an author who writes about new words:
[A] protologism is unlikely to make the leap to neologism status unless society connects with the word or identifies a genuine need for it [...] there's no guarantee that simple exposure to these creations will be effective in getting them used.
This means a new word probably won't become popular unless people really feel they need it or can relate to it. Just hearing a new word a lot doesn't guarantee it will be used. For instance, the British inventor James Dyson tried to make the verb dyson (meaning to vacuum, like hoover) popular in the early 2000s, but it didn't catch on.
See also
- Hapax legomenon: A word that appears only once in a specific text or by a certain author.
- Neologism: A new word or phrase that is starting to be used, but isn't fully accepted into common language yet.
- Nonce word: A word created just for one specific occasion or use.
- Sniglet: A funny made-up word for something that doesn't have a dictionary word.
