A neologism is a relatively recent word, or phrase that may be in the process of entering common use, but that has not yet been fully accepted into mainstream language. Neologisms are often driven by changes in culture and technology, and may be directly attributable to a specific person, publication, period, or event.
Popular examples of neologisms can be found in science, fiction, films and television, branding, literature, language and popular culture.
Neologisms are often formed by combining a language’s existing words or by giving words new and unique suffixes or prefixes. Neologisms can also be formed by blending words, for example, "brunch" is a blend of the words "breakfast" and "lunch", or through abbreviation or acronym, by intentionally rhyming with existing words or simply through playing with sounds.
When a word or phrase is no longer "new", it is no longer a neologism. Neologisms may take decades to become "old", however. Opinions differ on exactly how old a word must be to lose its status as a neologism.
The title of a book may become a neologism, for instance, Catch-22 (from the title of Joseph Heller's novel). Alternatively, the author's name may give rise to the neologism, although the term is sometimes based on only one work of that author. An example of this is "Orwellian" (from George Orwell, referring to his dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four).
Neologisms spread mainly through their exposure in mass media. The spreading of brand names, such as "coke" for Coca-Cola, "kleenex" for Kleenex facial tissue, and "xerox" for Xerox photocopying, all spread through their popular use being enhanced by mass media.
When translating from English to other languages, neologisms can appear as the result of inaccurate translations, or words ‘borrowed’ from other languages.