geek

[geek] /gik/
noun
1.
a digital-technology expert or enthusiast (a term of pride as self-reference, but often used disparagingly by others).
2.
a person who has excessive enthusiasm for and some expertise about a specialized subject or activity:
a foreign-film geek.
3.
a peculiar or otherwise dislikable person, especially one who is perceived to be overly intellectual.
4.
a carnival performer who performs sensationally morbid or disgusting acts, as biting off the head of a live chicken.
verb (used without object)
5.
to be overexcited about a specialized subject or activity, or to talk about it with excessive enthusiasm (usually followed by out):
I could geek out about sci-fi for hours.
Origin
1915- 20; probably variant of geck (mainly Scots) fool < Dutch or Low German gek
Related forms
geeky, adjective
Examples from the web for geek
  • They could use a good computer geek at the helm, though.
  • It's a relief to know we'll be able to speak geek (at least a little) throughout our worldly travels.
  • Call me a total geek, but I love syllabus writing.
  • Darwin emerges as a cross between twit and geek.
  • And I was not a geek but spent most of my early years playing team sports and had little time for studying.
  • When did we become geeks? According to a new study, our personalities were set back in grade school.
  • But before that he tapped his inner geek.
  • Just don't blame it on being a geek.
  • Though I'm no longer an engineer, it seems that my inner geek is here for the long haul.
  • In the modern age, the word "geek" is still derogatory.
British Dictionary definitions for geek

geek

/ɡiːk/
noun (slang)
1.
a person who is preoccupied with or very knowledgeable about computing
2.
a boring and unattractive social misfit
3.
a degenerate
Derived Forms
geeky, adjective
Word Origin
C19: probably variant of Scottish geck fool, from Middle Low German geck
Contemporary definitions for geek
noun

See gearhead

Word Origin and History for geek
n.

"sideshow freak," 1916, U.S. carnival and circus slang, perhaps a variant of geck "a fool, dupe, simpleton" (1510s), apparently from Low German geck, from an imitative verb found in North Sea Germanic and Scandinavian meaning "to croak, cackle," and also "to mock, cheat." The modern form and the popular use with reference to circus sideshow "wild men" is from 1946, in William Lindsay Gresham's novel "Nightmare Alley" (made into a film in 1947 starring Tyrone Power).

"An ordinary geek doesn't actually eat snakes, just bites off chunks of 'em, chicken heads and rats." [Arthur H. Lewis, "Carnival," 1970]
By c.1983, used in teenager slang in reference to peers who lacked social graces but were obsessed with new technology and computers (e.g. the Anthony Michael Hall character in 1984's "Sixteen Candles").
geek out vi. To temporarily enter techno-nerd mode while in a non-hackish context, for example at parties held near computer equipment. [Eric S. Raymond, "The New Hacker's Dictionary," 1996]

Slang definitions & phrases for geek

geek

noun
  1. A sideshow freak, esp one who does revolting things like biting the heads off live chickens (1920s+ Carnival & circus)
  2. A snake charmer (1920s+ Carnival & circus)
  3. A pervert or degenerate, esp one who will do disgusting things to slake deviant appetites; creep, weirdo (1920s+ Carnival & circus)
  4. (also geekoid) A devotee; fan; freak, nerd: and assorted science-fiction geeks around the world who actually call themselves cyberpunk (1990s+)
Related Terms

gink

[origin unknown; perhaps related to British dialect geck, geke, ''fool''; according to David Maurer, ''said to have originated with a man named Wagner of Charleston, WV, whose hideous snake-eating act made him famous'']


geek in Technology


computer geek