# Words coined in fiction that passed into common usage **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 27, 2006, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-coined-in-fiction-that-passed-into-common-usage/358450 "2006-05-27T14:47:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-coined-in-fiction-that-passed-into-common-usage/358450/1 "2006-05-27T14:47:12Z")
Robert Heinlein coined at least two well-known words that I know of: In his novella _Waldo,_ he envisioned the “waldo,” a hand-operated artificial manipulator. He didn’t **invent** the waldo, that would be like saying Jules Verne invented the nuclear-powered submarine, but he came up with the concept, and the name was used when the thing actually was invented. In _Stranger in a Strange Land,_ he coined the (Martian) word “grok,” which means “to understand” . . or, rather, “to intuit” . . . or . . . well, it’s debatable **what** it means, but it’s well-known to SF fans and Californians. Any others? ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-coined-in-fiction-that-passed-into-common-usage/358450/2 "2006-05-27T15:04:29Z")
The name “Wendy” was coined by J M Barrie in _Peter Pan_. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-coined-in-fiction-that-passed-into-common-usage/358450/3 "2006-05-27T15:09:20Z")
Lewis Carroll combined “snort” and chuckle" to give us “chortle” ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-coined-in-fiction-that-passed-into-common-usage/358450/4 "2006-05-27T15:12:45Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Lewis Carroll combined “snort” and chuckle" to give us “chortle” Good one! That word is an example of another Carroll coinage: “portmanteau”! ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-coined-in-fiction-that-passed-into-common-usage/358450/5 "2006-05-27T15:15:32Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > The name “Wendy” was coined by J M Barrie in _Peter Pan_. This is not a proven fact - although the name was certainly popularised by its use in the book. [Quark](http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=quark) is claimed to have a literary history. I’d suggest ‘hobbit’ has moved beyond Tolkein’s world, into the realm of imps and goblins. [Blatant](http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=blatant) is more certain. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-coined-in-fiction-that-passed-into-common-usage/358450/6 "2006-05-27T15:21:06Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > The name “Wendy” was coined by J M Barrie in _Peter Pan_. 😕 I’ve never heard that used as a common noun. What does it mean? ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-coined-in-fiction-that-passed-into-common-usage/358450/7 "2006-05-27T15:22:27Z")
“Wendy out, today.” “No, it’s Thursday.” “So am I…let’s all go for a beer!” ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-coined-in-fiction-that-passed-into-common-usage/358450/8 "2006-05-27T15:23:18Z")
If you include names, the name “Madison” was popularized by the movie “Splash,” and Chelsea Clinton was inspired by the song “Chelsea Morning,” and Mrs. Glover wanted to name her son a variation of “Savior” and came up with “Savion.” ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-coined-in-fiction-that-passed-into-common-usage/358450/9 "2006-05-27T16:01:01Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > The name “Wendy” was coined by J M Barrie in _Peter Pan_. Staff Report: [Was the name Wendy invented for the book “Peter Pan”?](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mpeterpanwendy.html) ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-coined-in-fiction-that-passed-into-common-usage/358450/10 "2006-05-27T16:10:50Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > 😕 I’ve never heard that used as a common noun. What does it mean? What part of speech do you think a proper name is? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-coined-in-fiction-that-passed-into-common-usage/358450/11 "2006-05-27T16:11:43Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > What part of speech do you think a proper name is? I misunderstood your post. You mean, nobody was **named** “Wendy” before _Peter Pan?_ ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-coined-in-fiction-that-passed-into-common-usage/358450/12 "2006-05-27T16:17:07Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > I misunderstood your post. You mean, nobody was **named** “Wendy” before _Peter Pan?_ That was my assertion - but it looks as though this may not be the whole truth. We live and learn. ---
**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:** [May 27, 2006, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-coined-in-fiction-that-passed-into-common-usage/358450/13 "2006-05-27T16:30:43Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Good one! That word is an example of another Carroll coinage: “portmanteau”! Not at all. Carroll’s coinages were called portmanteau words because of their resemblance to the already existing piece of luggage. > [@](#): > > A large leather suitcase that opens into two hinged compartments. Folding the words together gives an image of closing the portmanteau. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-coined-in-fiction-that-passed-into-common-usage/358450/14 "2006-05-27T16:37:49Z")
“cromulent” seems to have been invented for The Simpsons. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-coined-in-fiction-that-passed-into-common-usage/358450/15 "2006-05-27T16:43:16Z")
> [@ultrafilter](#): > > “cromulent” seems to have been invented for The Simpsons. …and “d’oh” has made it into the OED. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-coined-in-fiction-that-passed-into-common-usage/358450/16 "2006-05-27T16:54:08Z")
Newspeak, from Orwell’s _1984_ is used occasionally. Doubleplusungood is used by me. Not sure if it counts, but British comic _Viz_ has given dozens and dozens of obscenities to UK venacular in its _Profanisaurus_. Google it - too obscene to link, but I give you Bobfoc and Fafcam: “Body off Baywatch, face off Crimewatch” and “Fit as fuck, common as muck” (“fit” meaning attractive) respectively. ---
**Author:** ![Ana\_Byrd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Ana\_Byrd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ana_Byrd)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-coined-in-fiction-that-passed-into-common-usage/358450/17 "2006-05-27T17:06:34Z")
Soma, the drug used in Brave New World, is now the name of an [actual drug.](http://ideal-pharmacy.com/cgi-bin/FULLPRES.exe?PARTNUM=SOMA130&GO=300) ---
**Author:** ![Improv\_Geek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b3f665/32.png) [@Improv\_Geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Improv_Geek)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-coined-in-fiction-that-passed-into-common-usage/358450/18 "2006-05-27T17:06:54Z")
Isn’t the term Assassin credited to Shakespeare? It seems like I recall that being the case but I can’t find any cites as such so my memory appears to be wrong. Among sci fi geeks, there is a fairly commonly known term: ‘grok’ from Robert Heinlein’s _Stranger in a Strange Land_ ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-coined-in-fiction-that-passed-into-common-usage/358450/19 "2006-05-27T17:13:11Z")
“Kryptonite” is something of a term for something that will kill a project or idea. Insert-Word-Here-Mobile is derived from the Batmobile, or so I suspect. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-coined-in-fiction-that-passed-into-common-usage/358450/20 "2006-05-27T17:14:06Z")
“Robot,” from Karel Capek’s play _Rossum’s Universal Robots_. Based on a Czech word meaning “drudge.” “Quark,” from Joyce’s _Finnegans Wake_. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-coined-in-fiction-that-passed-into-common-usage/358450.md?page=2)