# Will "google" persist as a word after Google's gone? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 14, 2015, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-google-persist-as-a-word-after-googles-gone/734626 "2015-10-14T13:36:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2015, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-google-persist-as-a-word-after-googles-gone/734626/1 "2015-10-14T13:36:24Z")
“Google” is an Internet service company most famous for its search engine. Because of its popularity, “google” has also become a transitive verb in English, meaning “to use the Internet to find information about a person, thing or subject.” Usually one uses the Google service to google someone, but I’ve seen a disconnect between those things. Will this persist? People in England call it “hoovering” to clean your carpets with a vacuum cleaner even if they’re using a Dyson. Facial tissues will probably be called Kleenex and gelatin desserts Jello evena century after those brand names are gone. Will “Google” join those words? What other cool examples might prove or disprove this hypothesis? Are there lots of lost examples where a brand name was used this way but isn’t anymore? ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2015, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-google-persist-as-a-word-after-googles-gone/734626/2 "2015-10-14T14:11:50Z")
Googol will continue. Those who remember [Barney Google](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barney_Google_and_Snuffy_Smith)will still remember him. Google will probably have the same fate as Yahoo! and it might be a fun thing to put on one’s Do List to keep up with which one dies first and see how long it takes. 🙂 I almost posted a similar themed thread this week to see if folks could come up with stuff that has already fallen by the wayside in terms of expressions, fads, “in crowd stuff” and so on. Things like the hula hoop, slinky, spoolies, duck tails, sack dresses, Edsels, Soupy Sales, Pinky Lee, the list goes on… ---
**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2015, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-google-persist-as-a-word-after-googles-gone/734626/3 "2015-10-14T14:27:13Z")
I imagine so. Casting my mind back over the centuries, no-one was ever going to say ‘_Let’s yahoo that_.’, or ‘_I’m exciting that right now_.’, or ‘_Go and jeeves all you can on the situation_.’. As ever Google were clever. And even if Alphabet eventually discards most of Google, having themselves identified with a core part of internet-using will only help them as long as they exist. ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2015, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-google-persist-as-a-word-after-googles-gone/734626/4 "2015-10-14T14:30:11Z")
Well, for starters I’m not convinced Google is going away. Not in my lifetime anyway. I’m in the super minority of people who do not use Google’s search engine, but I have from time to time used “google” as a verb because it’s easier than saying “perform an internet search.” I think it’s used so commonly now that it’s here to stay. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2015, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-google-persist-as-a-word-after-googles-gone/734626/5 "2015-10-14T14:36:20Z")
Google is likely to live on because it’s already used very generically for any online searching, and it’s been converted into a verb for that purpose. What would put an end to it is another search engine that becomes more commonly used, something unlikely right now, and before much longer it would just be considered the new way to google. I remember Barney Google (though mainly Snuffy Smith), but it’s been a while now since ‘google’ brought him to mind. But I do still think of ol’ Spark Plug once in a while 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Blaster\_Master](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cab0a1/32.png) [@Blaster\_Master](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blaster_Master)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2015, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-google-persist-as-a-word-after-googles-gone/734626/6 "2015-10-14T14:36:50Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Will “Google” join those words? Google isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. It’s in early enough in the internet age and has become ubiquitous in a way that no previous search engine did. No one ever said “AltaVista” it or “AskJeeves” it; I never heard “Yahoo” it, though I could imagine maybe someone has at one point. That said, even people who don’t know internet vernacular are still generally familiar with the idea of googling something. So, really, I’d suspect that even if Google stopped working tomorrow, the term would probably stick around, but since they’ll probably be around for the foreseeable future, I think that will just reinforce it’s use. > [@](#): > > What other cool examples might prove or disprove this hypothesis? Are there lots of lost examples where a brand name was used this way but isn’t anymore? Some other examples of this phenomenon would be Xerox, Band-Aid, Aspirin, Coke (in some areas), Jeep, Q-Tip, Velcro off the top of my head. I’m not sure if I can think of any examples that had been genericized then fell out of use unless the product itself became obsolete. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2015, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-google-persist-as-a-word-after-googles-gone/734626/7 "2015-10-14T14:42:18Z")
Wikipedia (of course) has a whole list of items that are either legally or nominally genericized. Google is on the “nominally” list. The company itself has been fairly aggressive in discouraging the word from becoming a common verb, since that’s the beginning of the genericization process, and that can lead to weakening of trademark. > **[List of generic and genericized trademarks](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_generic_and_genericized_trademarks)** > > The following three lists of generic and genericized trademarks are: > The following partial list contains marks which were originally legally protected trademarks, but which have subsequently lost legal protection as trademarks by becoming the common name of the relevant product or service, as used both by the consuming public and commercial competitors. These marks were determined in court to have become generic. Some marks retain trademark protection in certain countries despite being declare... ---
**Author:** ![nofloyd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nofloyd/32/2870_2.png) [@nofloyd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nofloyd)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2015, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-google-persist-as-a-word-after-googles-gone/734626/8 "2015-10-14T14:43:10Z")
I vote yes based on the adoptions of kleenex and xerox. aspirin heroin linoleum looking at lists, wow there are tons of these. Up my yes given how often it happens. As a verb - taser. Simonize - is that dying/dead? I don’t hear that anymore. [note to self, adopt the verb hoover - just acquired a Hoover platinum] ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2015, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-google-persist-as-a-word-after-googles-gone/734626/9 "2015-10-14T15:58:42Z")
When I was a kid, we used kelvinator as a synonym for refrigerator, but that seems to have disappeared. Aspirin is legally generic in the US (confiscated under the alien property act during WWII) but not elsewhere AFAIK. Certainly not in Canada where they really do say ASA pills. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2015, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-google-persist-as-a-word-after-googles-gone/734626/10 "2015-10-14T16:03:01Z")
I’m sure you can get the answer if you take your phone and dial information. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2015, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-google-persist-as-a-word-after-googles-gone/734626/11 "2015-10-14T16:04:25Z")
> [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](#): > > Well, for starters I’m not convinced Google is going away. Not in my lifetime anyway. I’m in the super minority of people who do not use Google’s search engine, but I have from time to time used “google” as a verb because it’s easier than saying “perform an internet search.” I think it’s used so commonly now that it’s here to stay. Strictly out of curiosity, why not use google and what do you use instead? ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2015, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-google-persist-as-a-word-after-googles-gone/734626/12 "2015-10-14T17:00:39Z")
Since you asked, I prefer Bing for quite a few reasons. You can jump directly from the homepage to links for images, videos, maps, news at the top and trending searches/news at the bottom. Plus, the homepage has a cool picture, or lately it’s usually been an animation, with some trivial information in the bottom right corner. I almost always find it interesting. And most importantly, I find the search results to be equal or superior to Google’s. ETA because I just went to Google, I don’t like how the screen changes as soon as I start typing. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2015, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-google-persist-as-a-word-after-googles-gone/734626/13 "2015-10-14T17:18:56Z")
As I see it, we’ll only replace the generic use of google if some future competitor can replace them thoroughly enough to get us to use a different word. The concept of searching large databases of public information is certainly not going away, but there’s always the possibility that future people will “Siri” it instead of “Googling” it. A voice-operated AI personality could certainly be a game-changer in the search market sufficient to change our usage. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2015, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-google-persist-as-a-word-after-googles-gone/734626/14 "2015-10-14T23:43:39Z")
“Google” as a brand name is unlikely to ever go away. Even if the company itself goes under, another company will likely purchase the name and use it, like AT&T or Hostess. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2015, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-google-persist-as-a-word-after-googles-gone/734626/15 "2015-10-14T23:51:09Z")
Sure; we kept calling them “floppy disks” long after they stopped being floppy, so far as most people could tell. ---
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2015, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-google-persist-as-a-word-after-googles-gone/734626/16 "2015-10-14T23:56:39Z")
I still never use the word photocopy. When I need a photocopy, I say, “I’ll Xerox this.” ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2015, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-google-persist-as-a-word-after-googles-gone/734626/17 "2015-10-15T00:00:40Z")
And we “cc” people electronically even though we never make actual carbon copies. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2015, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-google-persist-as-a-word-after-googles-gone/734626/18 "2015-10-15T00:02:46Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > When I was a kid, we used kelvinator as a synonym for refrigerator, but that seems to have disappeared. Likewise, it’s been a long time since I’ve heard someone refer to the refrigerator as the fridgidaire, although the brand is still around. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2015, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-google-persist-as-a-word-after-googles-gone/734626/19 "2015-10-15T00:37:17Z")
Well, we’ve been hinting at it so we might as well dig in and see what’s missing from, or needs to be added to, [this list of eponyms.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eponym) ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2015, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-google-persist-as-a-word-after-googles-gone/734626/20 "2015-10-15T02:15:22Z")
MySpace was a pretty big name not so long ago, so there’s precedent for it going the other way. Also, Durkee Sauce. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-google-persist-as-a-word-after-googles-gone/734626.md?page=2)