Etymologie, Etimología, Étymologie, Etimologia, Etymology, (griech.) etymología, (lat.) etymologia, (esper.) etimologio
UK Vereinigtes Königreich Großbritannien und Nordirland, Reino Unido de Gran Bretaña e Irlanda del Norte, Royaume-Uni de Grande-Bretagne et d'Irlande du Nord, Regno Unito di Gran Bretagna e Irlanda del Nord, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, (esper.) Britujo
Ismus, Ismo, Isme, Ismo, Ism, (esper.) ismoj

GL-Ismen

Anorak (W3)

• Anorak
• Igloo
• Kayak
• mukluk
• Parka

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"anorak" n., slang = "studious", postdates OED (Draft Additions 1997) --1995.

The OED definition is "A boring, studious, or socially inept young person (caricatured as typically wearing an anorak), esp. one who pursues an unfashionable and solitary interest with obsessive dedication." Genealogical researchers are often obsessively dedicated, but they are generally not young. And generally not at the library wearing anoraks.
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"anorak"

Meaning:

• 1. (British) A warm, fur-lined weatherproof parka, possibly hooded; windcheater.
• 2. (British slang) A nerd, a boring git, someone so preoccupied with a particular field of interest as to be boring.

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Word History:

Today's Good Word was taken from German, which took it from Greenlandic Inuit (Eskimo) "annoraaq", inherited from Proto-Inuit "atnuraaq" = "clothing", which also went into the making of Canadian Inuktitut "annoraat" = "clothing". This is where the trail ends since Inuit languages have only had a writing system since the late 19th century. So, there is no paper trail.

In the 1980s "anorak" began being used to refer to trainspotters who usually wore anoraks while spotting. This sense quickly expanded to any nerd whose mindset focus prevented him or her from developing social graces.

"Anorak" comes from a Greenland Eskimo word for a type of jacket. An "Anorak" is characteristically made of waterproof materials and has a hood attached.

In recent years, it has been adopted for other purposes, most commonly as a noun to describe train-spotters, computer geeks, and unpopular college students.

It has also appeared as an adjective, for example, “He’s too Anorak for me”, with the same pejorative connotation. At the time of this writing, "Anorak" has not yet found its place in English usage as a verb. But these things take time.

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Origin of "anorak"

First recorded in 1920–25; from Inuit (Greenlandic) "annoraaq"
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"Anorak" - No - not an article of clothing (though it means that too), an "anorak" is another word for a "nerd" or a "square". Apparently originated from the anoraks that were worn by trainspotters whatever the weather. If you are described as being a bit of an "anorak", beware!

"Anorak" - A very untrendy kind of waterproof, padded coat with a zip. The sort of thing your mother made you wear when you were 10 and you still haven't forgiven her for it! Especially if she made you put the hood up when it rained. Possibly called a "slicker2 in American. The worst thing about my anorak was that my Mum had tied my gloves together by passing a piece of string through the arms of the anorak. This would have been quite sensible if the big boys hadn't taken great delight in pulling one glove really hard and watching me punch myself in the face with the other hand!

"anorak", n.

• 1. anyone outside a peer group who thus fails to fit in with ‘the gang’, esp. a studious individual who eschews drink, drugs and similar teen pleasures.
• 2. an obsessive, typically as regards computing (in an earlier age his interest would have been trainspotting).

Inuit

An Eskimo-Aleut language spoken in Siberia and Alaska: "anorak", "husky", "igloo", "kayak", ...

The English Language

Borrowed Words From "Inuit"

Inuit Language Notes

Inuit is an Eskimo-Aleut language spoken in Siberia and Alaska. It is the language of the Eskimos.

Word Meaning Notes

• "anorak" - A warm coat. Used in UK for as slang for an obsessive person.
• "husky" - A type of dog.
• "igloo" = "house" - Made from ice and snow.
• "kayak" = "boat"

"anorak", noun

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Norwegian, Danish or German, borrowed from Greenlandic Inuit "annoraaq", name for a hooded outer garment originally made of skin;

(sense 2: a person who is extremely enthusiastic about and interested in something that other people find boring) from the alleged popularity of anoraks as outerwear among such people

NOTE: The word was initially circulated in English through translations of accounts of polar expeditions, particularly those by Fridtjof NANSEN, who also wrote about the lives and culture of Greenland Inuit.

First Known Use

1877, in the meaning defined at sense 1
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first used in print: 1877

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For non-British readers: British "anorak", referring to a person rather than a "parka", can be glossed roughly as "nerd", or in more detail: "any dull or immature individual, or someone who follows a hobby which appears boring to the majority of people who find other pursuits more attractive once they have passed the legal age for sex and alcohol." Anoraks are usually male, and (to tie two threads together) we can surmise that they wear white cotton Y-fronts.
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"anorak"
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"BAD LANGUAGE"A COLUMN ABOUT WRITING IN BUSINESS

Geeks: How to Write for a Non-Technical Audience

March 3, 2008

By Matthew Stibbe

"Two peoples divided by a common language." George Bernard Shaw said this about the British and the Americans, but the same can be said of anoraks and suits.
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"Boffin"

Martha shares a British article that begins, "Boffins have discovered a strange new type of spongy mushroom." But what, you may ask, is a 2boffin"? The word "boffin" denotes an intellectual with a specific expertise and general lack of social aptitude.

Grant adds "anorak" to the list of terms for nerds with minimal aptitude for cocktail-party conversations. Here’s to you, "boffins" and "anoraks"!

"Anorakish"

Those choosing to wear that eminently practical cold-weather garment the "anorak" have suffered much opprobrium in Britain in the past couple of decades. It began with trainspotting, a specialised hobby involving much standing at the end of draughty station platforms noting down the numbers of passing engines. Those choosing this hobby were frequently ridiculed as being obsessive about trivia and as having poor social skills. Since trainspotters often wore "anoraks", the word came to be a pejorative term describing such a person. From about the late eighties, it has come to refer to any person (almost always male) with an obsessive or excessively enthusiastic interest, particularly one involving the collection of supposedly trivial information or ephemera, and is often applied to someone immersed in some technological field, particularly computers or the Internet.

The adjective "anorakish" has developed from this, as has the group noun "anorakdom", the supposed disease "anoraksia" and the facetious word for a fear of all things techie, "anoraknophobia".

"anorak" - Eskimo "ánorâq"