See also Wiktionary:Neologisms

English

Noun

neologism ‎(countable and uncountable, plural neologisms)

1. (linguistics) A word or phrase which has recently been coined; a new word or phrase.
2. (linguistics, uncountable) The act or instance of coining, or uttering a new word.
3. (psychiatry) The newly coined, meaningless words or phrases of someone with a psychosis, usually schizophrenia.

Usage notes

For a word to be no longer considered new, it needs to be understood by a significant portion of the population as having always been a valid word. For that to occur the word must have been in common use for approximately one generation — fifteen to twenty years — but there is no universally accepted measure. Also note that although some neologisms may be in prevalent use, others have only a single or a couple of usages. Neologisms however always have more prevalent usage than protologisms.

Synonyms

• coinage

Antonyms

• paleologism

Derived terms

• diffused neologism
• stable neologism

Related terms

• neologize
• neologizer
• neology

See also

• protologism
• vogue words
• Category:English neologisms

Translations

References

• The Oxford Dictionary of American Usage and Style. Bryan A. Garner. Oxford University Press, 2000. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. 21 June 2006
• The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.