Etymology

dork

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Today it means: A quirky, silly or stupid, socially inept person, or one who is out of touch with contemporary trends and typically has unfashionable hobbies. (Overlaps conceptually with nerd and geek, but does not imply the same level of intelligence.) Full definition →

First used the 20th c.Norwegian dorg
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dork · noun, verb1

  1. Norwegian · derived fromdorg“a mass; heap; a heavy, dimwitted, slovenly person”
  2. English todaydork

First use appears in the US c. 1961. The sense of a "silly person" is presumably from earlier use as a bowdlerization of dick (“penis”) in student slang, particularly the Midwest. Despite a common misconception, it has never referred specifically to a whale's penis, but penises in general. Alternative etymology derives from dialectal Norwegian dorg (“a mass; heap; a heavy, dimwitted, slovenly person”).

dork · noun2

Uncertain; apparently from Scots. See dirk.

First known use, by meaning

  • from the 20th c. A quirky, silly or stupid, socially inept person, or one who is out of touch with contemporary trends and typically has unfashionable hobbies. (Overlaps conceptually with nerd and geek, but does not imply the same level of intelligence.)
  • from the 20th c. The penis.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.