Neoteric

WORD OF THE DAY

 

NEOTERIC \ nee-uh-TAIR-ik \ adjective

 

Definition

1a: recent in origin
1b: modern

 

Examples

The book's dialogue is peppered with neoteric slang and jargon that can be challenging for the reader to decode.

"… he has put together a string of projects with the same modern ethos that seemed avant-garde to the point of risky at their conception—until customers began clamoring for his neoteric stamp.…"
— Anita Chabria, Sactown Magazine, October/November 2014

 

Did You Know?

The word neoteric is not itself neoteric; it's been part of English since at least 1577, and its roots go back even further—to ancient Greek. We adapted the word from Late Latin neotericus, which also means "recent."

Neotericus in turn comes from Late Greek neōterikos and ultimately from Greek neos, meaning "new" or "young." As old as its roots are, however, neoteric itself entered English later than its synonyms novel (which appeared in the 15th century) and newfangled (which was being used to describe things of the newest style or kind almost 50 years prior).