When reading this blog today, I noticed a interesting word in the comments on one of the posts – computarded. It was used in the following sentence: “I made it up to the basic internet skills era (email! google search! social network site! PubMed! etc…) and beyond that I’m computarded.”
This is an example of a portmanteau word or blend. It works better than computer illiterate, I think, though only if you’re talking about yourself. If you used it to describe someone else, it might be considered pejorative.
A possible antonym is compudextrous. Can you think of any others?
LOL! @ “computarded”
“Computerate” or “compuliterate”
Of course we already have old words for this: Geek, Nerd, Poindexter.
I like portmanteu neologisms but they tend to have a short shelf life. Who says “yuppie” – young-urban-professional – anymore?
Isn’t “blog” itself one? So, is “Wintel.”
(Has anyone else noticed that the word “geek” is now morphing into a meaning sort of like “savant”? A sports trivia enthusiast can be considered a “geek” now!)
Poindexter isn’t used in Britain at all, I has a very American feel to me. Is it used anywhere else other than North America (e.g. in Australia, New Zealand)?
What’s the derivation of poindexter?
It comes from a character of that name in the comic strip Felix the Cat, and comes from the 1950s. The character was a scientist dressed in a white coat and he wore big thick glasses.
Well who knows oxford may consider this word and include in dictionary??? 🙂 sounds ok to me… Computarded..lol
yuppie is still alive in Chilean spanish… was obviously borrowed and no-one told the chileans it´s not cool any more 😉
J