Nincompoop: e Strange Case of A Con icted Word

nickumpoop with a ck, there were two main different, distinct spellings of this word. e word was introduced in 1668 and ten years later, the main spelling split into two groups: people spelling it with two n’s (as is done in our modern spelling) and people spelling it with only one n (the first spelling, or nicompoop). e first version with only one n stayed relevant for the rest of the 1600s and a majority of the 1700s, but this fell out of usage after 1762.

With time, however, a modern spelling emerged and flourished. e use of the modern spelling can first be seen being used by Joseph Addison who, writing in the 1713 Spectator, describes, “An old Ninnyhammer, a Dotard, a Nincompoop.” Here, Addison uses a word like “ninnyhammer’’ which describes how there were different variations of the word because ninnyhammer’s definition is very similar to nincompoop’s. Although there is no certain origin of the word, a majority of people who use the word come from Europe. ey would use the word for foolish people or people who could be manipulated easily, as demonstrated in this 1697 excerpt: “Daphne uses him like a meer Nincompoop, she makes him carry her Slippers, or mend her Stockings.” is demonstrates how the author used nincompoop to discuss a man who would do anything for women even when it is implied that the woman doesn’t really care for him. roughout the late 1600s and the early 1700s, the word nincompoop was not commonly used, but its usage increased in frequency towards the end of the 1700s. In 1791, we are introduced to the first derivative of the word which most likely was made due to the increase in usage of the word. We see this derivative first being used by Horace Walpole, who used the word to describe “ e nincompoophood of her Prince.” e definition of the word “nincompoophood” is the state or fact of being a nincompoop.

Today, the word nincompoop is not commonly used in language and is not seen as a heavy insult anymore because people tend to use it in a joking manner. e word hasn’t become a term that you can use anywhere as it’s still considered somewhat

insulting. While the term’s definition has not seen significant change, how people use it has changed. It has changed from a rude insult to a niche, funny, and playful insult that isn’t used. We predict that the word will continue to fade out of existence.

Gremlins: Mischief, Mayhem, and Meaning

L K

The Oxford English Dictionary defines a gremlin as “a lowly or despised person; a menial, a dogsbody, a wretch,” and as “ a mischievous sprite imagined as the cause of mishaps to aircraft” andmoregenerally, “acreatureimaginedasthecauseofanytrouble or mischance.” As far as words go, “gremlin” is a relatively recent one- it has its beginnings in the British Royal Air Force (RAF) in the early twentieth century. In its relatively short lifespan, the gremlin has broadened its horizons to include not only the destruction of aircraft, but interference with any technology.

“Gremlin’ s” exact origin is unclear; some sources propose that it originates from the Old English word gremman, meaning to “to anger” or the Irish gruaimin, meaning “bad tempered little fellow,” or even “goblin,” which denotes “a small, ugly, gnome-like creature [...] in early use considered as malevolent or demonic, in later use often as merely mischievous” (OED). e gremlin shares the goblin’ s mischievous and/or malevolent nature, but is limited to the realm of aviation, and later technology in general. e first published use of the word seems to be in a poem in the journal Aeroplane in 1929, although all accounts indicate