# Is the neologism "trepidacious" now a real word? Why wasn't it before? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 12, 2003, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-neologism-trepidacious-now-a-real-word-why-wasnt-it-before/207000 "2003-10-12T15:43:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2013, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-neologism-trepidacious-now-a-real-word-why-wasnt-it-before/207000/21 "2013-02-25T17:22:09Z")
Never be too quick to imagine a word is a neologism. From OED: > [@](#): > > trepidatious, adj. > > Apprehensive, nervous; filled with trepidation > > **1904** B. Mitford Sirdar’s Oath xxvi. 301 Hilda looked up from the papers she had been busy with as he entered—in fact, made a guilty and trepidatious attempt at sweeping them out of sight. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2013, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-neologism-trepidacious-now-a-real-word-why-wasnt-it-before/207000/22 "2013-02-25T17:27:30Z")
> [@Bob\_X](#): > > There was once a facetious group called the Society for the Restoration of Lost Positives, which encouraged the use of words like “couth”, “kempt”, “shevelled”, and my favorite, “gruntled”. They would have loved Tripod’s song Kempt: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IngvNUaWvck](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IngvNUaWvck) ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2013, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-neologism-trepidacious-now-a-real-word-why-wasnt-it-before/207000/23 "2013-02-25T17:28:51Z")
> [@Bob\_X](#): > > There was once a facetious group called the Society for the Restoration of Lost Positives, which encouraged the use of words like “couth”, “kempt”, “shevelled”, and my favorite, “gruntled”. That doesn’t seem to have gone anywhere. Probably not enough time for them to get the word out between harrumphs and sips of milky tea. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2013, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-neologism-trepidacious-now-a-real-word-why-wasnt-it-before/207000/24 "2013-02-25T17:29:18Z")
> [@Bob\_X](#): > > There was once a facetious group called the Society for the Restoration of Lost Positives, which encouraged the use of words like. . . “gruntled”. Not a lost positive. The “dis-” is an intensifier in this case, meaning ‘extremely gruntled.’ > [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > Well, then OP’s girlfriend is vinicated. Maybe someone should pm him. He hasn’t checked in in nine years. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2013, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-neologism-trepidacious-now-a-real-word-why-wasnt-it-before/207000/25 "2013-02-25T17:32:52Z")
> [@Setherghd](#): > > [http://home.mn.rr.com/wwftd/rst.htm#trepidacious](http://home.mn.rr.com/wwftd/rst.htm#trepidacious) > > wwftd = worthless word for the day > > I thought this would be interesting to share. I trepidly clicked on this ten-year-old link, but alas, it no longer worked. I am gruntled… ---
**Author:** ![vandoc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/4bbf92/32.png) [@vandoc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vandoc)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2016, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-neologism-trepidacious-now-a-real-word-why-wasnt-it-before/207000/26 "2016-09-15T05:20:46Z")
> [@tsuwm](#): > > \>reorientate “is supposed to be” reorient > > BTW, orientate is very much a transpondian preference – they do like to add those extra letters and syllables over there (and then forget to pronounce them on occasion ; ). I found myself wanting to use trepidacious in an email and this led to googling if it was actually a word and hence how I landed on this page. It is many years after these posts were made but I found great irony in the use of the word ‘transpondian’ in a post supporting why trepidacious is a worthless word…hahaha ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2016, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-neologism-trepidacious-now-a-real-word-why-wasnt-it-before/207000/27 "2016-09-15T10:21:24Z")
Among literate English-speaking people, it is generally recognized that inclusion in a published dictionary constitutes a word being a “real word”. When "trepidacious’ gets into dictionaries, it technically crosses the line from not being a real work, to being one. English is not subject to any “law” of usage, so by default, dictionary publishers have been assigned this task. However, English is also recognized as a rather flexible language, and according to context and intended audience, it is quite acceptable for an ad-hoc crossing of the line by a speaker who feels that a non-real word best elucidates his intent. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2016, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-neologism-trepidacious-now-a-real-word-why-wasnt-it-before/207000/28 "2016-09-15T11:11:30Z")
It has now passed the cromulency test. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2016, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-neologism-trepidacious-now-a-real-word-why-wasnt-it-before/207000/29 "2016-09-15T14:44:01Z")
I assume all word-oriented Dopers have [etymonline.com](http://etymonline.com) bookmarked. [trepidacious](http://etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=trepidacious) > [@](#): > > trepidation (n.) > Related: Trepidacious (1915). After a century, it’s a bit too gray-haired to still be a neologism. And this is another reminder to everyone: Never cite what a schoolteacher told you about the English language. Their record here is a big fat zero. ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2016, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-neologism-trepidacious-now-a-real-word-why-wasnt-it-before/207000/30 "2016-09-16T00:44:46Z")
[quote=“jtur88, post:27, topic:207000”] Among literate English-speaking people, it is generally recognized that inclusion in a published dictionary constitutes a word being a “real word”. When "trepidacious’ gets into dictionaries, it technically crosses the line from not being a real work, to being one.]/QUOTE] “Literate English-speaking people” might think that, but nit-picking dopers would disagree. A word isn’t a real word because it’s in a dictionary. Rather, it’s in a dictionary because it’s a real world - i.e. a word that English speakers use with sufficient frequency that it requires a definition, and with sufficient consistency that it can be defined. Putting a word in a dictionary doesn’t make it a real word. Rather, it shows that it has become a real word at some point, or over some period, before the dictionary was compiled. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2016, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-neologism-trepidacious-now-a-real-word-why-wasnt-it-before/207000/31 "2016-09-16T04:24:14Z")
What about Leo Bloom’s inadvertent neologism of three years ago – _vinicated_? I propose we define it as “(self-)medicated by imbibing wine.” As in, “I was feeling pretty crappy until I vinicated with half a bottle of cheap merlot.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-neologism-trepidacious-now-a-real-word-why-wasnt-it-before/207000.md?page=1)