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Dork is a term used to describe someone who has odd interests, and is often silly at times. A dork is also someone who can be themselves and not care what anyone thinks. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wiktionary (a portmanteau of wiki and dictionary) is a multilingual, Web-based project to create a free content dictionary, available in over 150 languages. ...

The term implies stupidity perhaps less often than it formerly did, and paradoxically can imply an unadmirable (bookish, academic) intelligence, much as "nerd" and "geek" do.

Etymology

It is popularly asserted that the term originated as whalers' occupational slang for the penis of a whale (oosik), and by transfer became an anatomical insult, undergoing subsequent generalization and amelioration to its present meaning. The current state of evidence suggests that this is a case of folk etymology^[1], as no solid documentation has been advanced for the use of the term in this context. One of the earliest documented uses of the word "dork" is a 1961 publication (referencing 1953), in which the meaning is clearly penis, but with no particular reference to whales^[2]. Instead, the term may be merely a minced oath variant of "dick", a vulgar term for a human penis. In its current most common usage, however, the phallic association is ignored and the term is not considered particularly vulgar. Oosik is a term used in Alaska to describe the penile bone of the walrus. ... For the term in the context of mathematical logic, see Generalization (logic). ... Look up Amelioration in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Folk etymology is a term used in two distinct ways: A commonly held misunderstanding of the origin of a particular word, a false etymology. ... A minced oath, also known as a pseudo-profanity, is an expression based on a profanity which has been altered to reduce or remove the disagreeable or objectionable characteristics of the original expression; for example, gosh used instead of God, darn instead of damn,heck instead of hell and freaking...

The adjectival form of dork is dorky, a word that was mainstream enough by 1971 to appear in a Peanuts comic strip.[1] For other uses, see Peanut (disambiguation). ...

See also

• Geek
• Oosik

The word geek is a slang term, noting individuals as a peculiar or otherwise dislikable person, especially one who is perceived to be overly intellectual.[1] Formerly, the term referred to a carnival performer often billed as a wild man whose act usually includes biting the head off a live... Oosik is a term used in Alaska to describe the penile bone of the walrus. ...

Other uses

"Dork" is a common slang personal name for one of the main figures in the CGI software Poser. Computer-generated imagery (commonly abbreviated as CGI) is the application of the field of computer graphics (or more specifically, 3D computer graphics) to special effects in films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media. ... Look up Poser in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

It is also a Dutch surname. Ellis Island records indicate people registering as early as 1907 with Dork as their last name.^[3]

A "Dork" is a whale penis.

References

1. ^ http://urbanlegends.about.com/b/a/006133.htm
2. ^ http://www.wordorigins.org/index.php/site/comments/dork/
3. ^ http://ellisisland.org/search/matchMore.asp?LNM=DORK&PLNM=DORK&first_kind=1&kind=exact&offset=0&dwpdone=1