Words coined in fiction that passed into common usage

[Johanna]

The 1913 book Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Porter has been forgotten, but the word Pollyanna lives on, probably even used by people with no idea of its origin.

[Beware_of_Doug]

@barracuda

Sure, I know it’s a play - other posters have used examples from movies - a play should be acceptable.

Yeah, just funnin’ ya. And I missed the movie cites. I really should be more condescending about reading all the posts.

[pesch]

The word “serendipity” was coined by Horace Walpole in a letter to his friend:

“I once read a silly fairy tale, called The Three Princes of Serendip: as their highnesses travelled, they were always making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things which they were not in quest of: for instance, one of them discovered that a mule blind of the right eye had travelled the same road lately, because the grass was eaten only on the left side, where it was worse than on the right—now do you understand serendipity? One of the most remarkable instances of this accidental sagacity (for you must observe that no discovery of a thing you are looking for, comes under this description) was of my Lord Shaftsbury, who happening to dine at Lord Chancellor Clarendon’s, found out the marriage of the Duke of York and Mrs. Hyde, by the respect with which her mother treated her at table.”[1]

Cribbed from the Wikipedia entry.

[Der_Trihs]

I’ve heard “warp speed” used to mean “go very fast” various places.

[Skald_the_Rhymer]

@BrainGlutton

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?

When I read the thread title, grok & waldo were the first two that came into mind–but really, how common is EITHER of them? When people say “waldo” there’s always a “where’s” behind it and a map in front of them, and only geeks like me say grok; it’s hardly common.

[Sir_Prize]

@ronincyberpunk

Isn’t the term Assassin credited to Shakespeare? *

Assassin

1531 (in Anglo-L. from c.1237), via Fr. and It., from Arabic hashishiyyin “hashish-users,” pl. of hashishiyy, from hashish (q.v.). A fanatical Ismaili Muslim sect of the time of the Crusades, under leadership of the “Old Man of the Mountains” (translates Arabic shaik-al-jibal, name applied to Hasan ibu-al-Sabbah), with a reputation for murdering opposing leaders after intoxicating themselves by eating hashish. The pl. suffix -in was mistaken in Europe for part of the word (cf. Bedouin).

[Walloon]

Shangri-La (from Lost Horizon, by James Hilton)
California (from the 1510 romance Las Sergas de Esplandián)
knickerbockers (hence knickers) (from the comic A History of New York, by Washington Irving)

[Alessan]

The term “Cyberspace” comes from the works of William Gibson - either Neuromancer or one of his early short stories . I’m surprised no-one has mentioned it yet.

[FlyingRamenMonster]

@Alessan

The term “Cyberspace” comes from the works of William Gibson - either Neuromancer or one of his early short stories . I’m surprised no-one has mentioned it yet.

Damn you Alessan, I was just about to mention it!

[sciurophobic]

Swift’s “Lilliputian”, “Brobdingnagian”, and “Yahoo” as synonyms for small, large and stupid.

[Idlewild]

@Johanna

The 1913 book Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Porter has been forgotten, but the word Pollyanna lives on, probably even used by people with no idea of its origin.

Pollyanna and its sequel are both still in print which is kind of dandy for any 1913 children’s book and I’d say makes it slightly not forgotten. Not that I’d recommend any modern child read it, but it was certainly on my bookshelf along with What Katy Did, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm and sundry other little moral tracts in disguise. Those are still in print too. I guess the classics never die…

[zagloba]

@jackelope

Granted, it’s on a Geocities page, but if you follow the author-link, you’ll find his homepage; he’s written a few books and is apparently some kind of lecturer in physics.

I first read this as Gell-Mann is apparently some kind of lecturer in physics. Nice understatement, I thought.

[bonzer]

@jackelope

I’ve always been skeptical about this; the story, as I’ve heard it, is that he “was reading Finnegans Wake” when he found found the word. But no one actually sits down and “reads” Finnegans Wake; it’s undertaken only by those who have either a professional interest or a year of free time. The word “quarks” appears exactly once in the book (page 383, for those of you reading along at home), and it seems unlikely that he would have found it by opening to a page at random–which is IMO the best way to read FW–or been sufficiently charmed* by it to name his most famous discovery after it.

I don’t think Gell-Mann has actually ever specifically claimed to have read the Wake from start to finish. Somewhat the opposite even.
Gell-Mann cited Joyce when introduced the term in print in Physics Letters in February 1964 and this was sufficiently unusual that the basic story quickly became well-known and widely repeated. But he hasn’t elaborated on the circumstances that often - though, offhand, I seem to recall that the OED tried to pin him down a bit at one stage - and the fullest account I’m aware of is in the 1983 interview he granted Crease and Mann for their 1986 history of 20th century physics The Second Creation. In this he explained how he first used the word quork for his idea verbally over coffee following a seminar he gave on the topic at Columbia in March 1963. Then:

It seemed somehow appropriate. A strange sound for something peculiar. When I was going to publish the idea eight months later or whatever it was, late in sixty-three, I was paging through Finnegans Wake as I often do, trying to understand bits and pieces - you know how you read Finnegans Wake - and I came across “Three quarks for Muster Mark.” I said, “That’s it! Three quarks make neutron or a proton!” Joyce’s word rhymes with bark, but it was close enough to my funny sound. Besides, I told myself, in one of its meanings it is also supposed to rhyme with quart. So that was the name I chose. The whole thing was just a gag. It’s a reaction against pretentious scientific language.

George Johnson, his authorised biographer, adds the detail - unfootnoted, but presumably based on one of his interviews with him - that the copy involved was a first edition belonging to his brother, Ben Gelman.

Since it was Gell-Mann who pointed out the reference, pretty much the only plausible alternative is that he was flicking through the Wake deliberately looking for a word to use without the preconception. If so, that’s still an example of what the OP was looking for.

Of course, none of this prevents Gell-Mann from being a front runner for the title of The Most Pretentious Man Alive.

[Diceman]

@Skald the Rhymer

When I read the thread title, grok & waldo were the first two that came into mind–but really, how common is EITHER of them? When people say “waldo” there’s always a “where’s” behind it and a map in front of them, and only geeks like me say grok; it’s hardly common.

I have to agree. Waldo is that guy that hides in pictures. Talking about “a waldo” would confuse nearly everyone. And “grok” really isn’t too common even on the internet. It’s really just a bit of jargon.

[Colibri]

“Cyberspace” was coined by William Gibson in his 1984 science fiction novel "Neuromancer.

[Colibri]

@Colibri

“Cyberspace” was coined by William Gibson in his 1984 science fiction novel "Neuromancer.

Apologies to Alessan, I didn’t check the second page before posting.

[Colibri]

Ok, I’ve got one that hasn’t been mentioned: “gargantuan,” from Gargantua, by Francois Rabelais (1534).

@bonzer

Of course, none of this prevents Gell-Mann from being a front runner for the title of The Most Pretentious Man Alive.

My favorite quote of his (perhaps apocryphal): “If I have seen farther, it’s because I have been surrounded by dwarfs.”

[Cat_Whisperer]

@Diceman

I have to agree. Waldo is that guy that hides in pictures. Talking about “a waldo” would confuse nearly everyone. And “grok” really isn’t too common even on the internet. It’s really just a bit of jargon.

I’d have to disagree about “waldo.” Anybody who has the need to talk about an articulated robotic limb will call it a waldo, I believe, and that’s common enough usage for me. “Grok” is still the territory of geeks, though.

[AskNott]

@Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor

“Kryptonite” is something of a term for something that will kill a project or idea.

That’s true, but wasn’t the gas Krypton named for Kal-el’s (Superman’s) home planet?

The “tenth planet” has been tentatively named for a fictional warrior princess, Xena, subject to approval by the Commissioner of the National Football League, or somebody.

Uncle Tom, of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, has come to mean an obediant black man.

[Skald_the_Rhymer]

[QUOTE=AskNott]
That’s true, but wasn’t the gas Krypton named for Kal-el’s (Superman’s) home planet?

[quote]

I believe it’s the other way 'round. Krypton was discovered & named in 1898 or so.

Uncle Tom, of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, has come to mean an obediant black man.

I’d change “obedient” to “embarrassingly/slavishly subservient to whites (in the view of the utterer)” here. A black corporal who follows the orders of his black sergeant isn’t going to be considered a Tom by anyone; nor would his fellow Marines consider him a Tom for following the orders of his white lieutenant, so long as he behaved with pride. But a black man who behaves sans pride, as if he believes himself inherently inferior to and justifiably subordinate to ANY white person, is a Tom.