Geek: History and Key Facts

A geek is slang originally for an eccentric, awkward, non-mainstream person and, in its current use, more narrowly such a person who is obsessed with a particular hobby or intellectual pursuit. In the past, the word had a generally pejorative meaning of a "peculiar person, especially one who is perceived to be overly intellectual, unfashionable, boring, or socially awkward". In the 21st century, it was reclaimed and used by many people, especially members of some fandoms, as a positive term. It is largely, but not always, a synonym for nerd.

Some use the term self-referentially without malice or as a source of pride, often referring simply to "someone who is interested in a subject (usually intellectual or complex) for its own sake".

Source and attribution

Text excerpted from Geek by Wikipedia contributors, available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0. The extract is abridged and formatting has been adjusted; the adapted text on this page is shared under the same licence. Revision history.