Advertisement

Want to remove ads? Log in to see fewer ads, and become a Premium Member to remove all ads.

Origin and history of Spock

Spock

half-alien character in the "Star Trek" U.S. entertainment franchise, developed and named 1964 by series creator Gene Roddenberry, who later said he was searching for an alien-sounding word and not thinking of U.S. physician and child-care specialist Benjamin M. Spock (1903-1998), whose name is of Dutch origin.

The doctor wrote the enormously popular "Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care" (1946) and is the source of the first element in Spock-marked (1967), defined in OED as "(Adversely) affected by an upbringing held to be in accordance with the principles of Dr. Spock ...."

Advertisement

Want to remove ads? Log in to see fewer ads, and become a Premium Member to remove all ads.

Trends of Spock

adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable.

More to explore

dissipate
early 15c., dissipaten, "scatter or drive off in all directions," from Latin dissipatus, past participle of dissipare "to spread abroad, scatter, disperse; squander, disintegrate," from dis- "apart" (see dis-) + supare "to throw, scatter," which is apparently from a PIE *supi- "t
repent
c. 1300, repenten, "be grieved over one's past and seek forgiveness; feel such regret for sins, crimes, or omissions as produces amendment of life," from Old French repentir (11c.), from re-, here perhaps used as an intensive prefix, "very much" (see re-), + Vulgar Latin *penitir
denizen
early 15c., "a citizen, a dweller, an inhabitant," especially "legally established inhabitant of a city or borough, a citizen as distinguished from a non-resident native or a foreigner," from Anglo-French deinzein, denzein, (Old French deinzein) "one within" (the privileges of a
mask
1530s, "a cover for the face (with openings for the eyes and mouth), a false face," from French masque "covering to hide or guard the face" (16c.), from Italian maschera, from Medieval Latin masca "mask, specter, nightmare," a word of uncertain origin. It is perhaps from Arabic m
rapture
c. 1600, "act of carrying off" as prey or plunder, from rapt + -ure, or else from French rapture, from Medieval Latin raptura "seizure, rape, kidnapping," from Latin raptus "a carrying off, abduction, snatching away; rape" (see rapt). The earliest attested use in English is with
pomp
c. 1300, "ostentation and display," especially on parade, from Old French pompe "pomp, magnificence" (13c.) and directly from Latin pompa "procession, pomp," from Greek pompē "solemn procession, display, escort," literally "a sending," from pempein "to send," which is of unknown
Russia
nation in Eastern Europe with a large possession in north Asia, 1530s, from Medieval Latin Russi "the people of Russia," from Rus, the native name of the people and the country (source of Arabic Rus, Medieval Greek Rhos), originally the name of a group of Swedish merchant/warrior
spruce
"type of evergreen tree, spruce-fir," 1660s, from spruse (adj.) "made of spruce wood" (early 15c.), originally that imported from Prussia. It is literally "from Prussia," from Middle English Spruce, Sprws (late 14c.), unexplained alterations of Pruce "Prussia," which is from an O
idiosyncrasy
c. 1600, from French idiosyncrasie, from Latinized form of Greek idiosynkrasia "a peculiar temperament," from idios "one's own" (see idiom) + synkrasis "temperament, mixture of personal characteristics," from syn "together" (see syn-) + krasis "mixture," from PIE root *kere- "to
Babylon
mid-14c., Babilon, representing the Greek rendition of Akkadian Bab-ilani "the gate of the gods," from bab "gate" + ilani, plural of ilu "god" (compare Babel). The Old Persian form, Babiru-, shows characteristic transformation of -l- to -r- in words assimilated from Semitic. The

Share Spock

Advertisement

Want to remove ads? Log in to see fewer ads, and become a Premium Member to remove all ads.

Trending
Dictionary entries near Spock
Advertisement

Want to remove ads? Log in to see fewer ads, and become a Premium Member to remove all ads.

Want to remove ads? Log in to see fewer ads, and become a Premium Member to remove all ads.