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Merriam-Webster, the folks who have been helping to defining words since 1828, have a new tool that’s informative and fun. Time Traveler can show you the year when words first appeared in print.
This addictive site shows you year by year how words enter the English language and how they can disappear from usage. Some words live on in our language while some, even recent words, may be completely unfamiliar to you.
Scroll through the years on Time Traveler to discover the year a word was first used in print. I bet you’ll be surprised at how recently, and how far back, some words first appeared.
Some years have one lone word while other years are chock full of additions to our vocabulary.
You can view each year to see which words were first introduced into written language. Click or tap on a word to read its definition and see how the word may be used in a sentence.
Guess when these words first appeared in print, then check out Time Traveler to find out if you’re correct or, if not, how many years you were off:
- sudoku
- TiVo
- geocaching
- speed dating
- K-pop
- RSS
- bokeh
- crunk
Did you guess that they were all from the same year?
Warning: Time Traveler can be totally addictive. Check it out only if you have time to be fully immersed in the experience of exploring the history of words.
In addition to scrolling through the years, you can use the drop-down menu at the top of the page to skip to a particular year. You can check to see which words first appeared in the year you were born. And see how many of them are still in use. Chances are many of them have faded away into obscurity, no matter when you were born.
Records on this site go way back in time. As in before the 12th century, which is most likely before you were born.
If you click or tap on before 12th century, you’ll see a page full of words you can select to see the definition and when the word first appeared in print.
Curious about when a certain word was first used in print? Search for the word at the top of the Time Traveler page.
You may discover that a word is much older than you’d expect. For example, “computer” was first used in 1613. “Coffee” was first written in 1598. “Internet” is from 1974.
One person on Twitter used Time Traveler to make an excellent point about a classic character in literature:
Scientist: 1834, Victor Frankenstein could not have been a scientist.
— All Day SCI-fi (@All_Day_SCIfi) January 4, 2019
Many words from this century are tech related, reminding us how quickly tech has changed our everyday lives, such as:
- bingeable from 2013
- blockchain from 2011
- gamification from 2010
- Bitcoin and unfollow from 2008
- retweet and hashtag from 2007
- crowdfunding and crowdsourcing from 2006
- podcast, social media, and paywall from 2005
- binge-watch and unfriend from 2003
Your Thoughts
Have you checked out Time Traveler yet? Were you surprised by the age of any words? What words do you think could be added for this year?
Share your thoughts in the Comments section below!
Time Traveler this Tools seems to be so amazing. The best part I loved about this Tool is that is cover maximum most of the year doesn’t matter how back you go.
Thank you for sharing such an amazing Post.
Hi Radhika, You’re right, you can go back before the 12th century to see the history of words, very cool! I was constantly amazed at how recently words entered our language, or the opposite — how long words have been in print. This website is truly engrossing.
I hope you continue to enjoy Time Traveler, Radhika.