Coining (linguistics) facts for kids
In linguistics, a protologism is a newly used or coined word, a nonce word, that has been repeated but not gained acceptance beyond its original users or been published independently of the coiners. The word may be proposed, may be extremely new, or may be established only within a very limited group of people. A protologism becomes a neologism as soon as it appears in published press, on a website, or in a book, independently of the coiner—though, most definitively, in a dictionary. A word whose developmental stage is between that of a protologism (freshly coined) and a neologism (a new word) is a prelogism.
Overview
Protologisms constitute one stage in the development of neologisms. A protologism is coined to fill a gap in the language, with the hope of its becoming an accepted word. As an example, when the word protologism itself was coined—in 2003 by the American literary theorist Mikhail Epstein—it was autological: an example of the thing it describes.
About the concept and his name for it, Epstein wrote:
I suggest calling such brand new words 'protologisms' (from Greek protos, meaning 'first, original' and Greek logos, meaning 'word'; cf. prototype, protoplasm). The 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.
According to Epstein, every word in use started out as a protologism, subsequently became a neologism, and then gradually grew to be part of the language.
There is no fixed rule determining when a protologism becomes a stable neologism, and according to Kerry Maxwell, author of Brave 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, as discovered by British inventor Sir James Dyson when he fruitlessly attempted to promote a verb dyson (by analogy with hoover) in the early 2000s.
See also
- Hapax legomenon, a word occurring only once in a given context, such as in the works of a particular author
- Neologism, a relatively recent or isolated term, word, or phrase that may be in the process of entering common use, but that has not yet been fully accepted into mainstream language.
- Nonce word, a word created for a single occasion
- Sniglet, a humorous word made up to describe something for which no dictionary word exists
