Blog Was Made by Cutting a Joke in Half
A blog is a regularly updated website of personal writing. The name is the tail end of a joke coined in 1999.
A blog is a website of dated entries, usually personal and informally written. The name has a precise birth: *weblog* was coined in 1997, and in 1999 Peter Merholz split it in his sidebar as *we blog*, as a joke. The second half was adopted as a word within months, and by 2004 it was Merriam-Webster's word of the year. Few words can be dated to a single deliberate pun.
- A regularly updated site. *Read her blog.*
- To write one. *He blogs daily.*
- Blogger โ the writer. *A blogger.*
- Weblog โ the original. *A weblog.*
- Coined 1999. *From a joke.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | blog | A blog. |
| Plural | blogs | Blogs. |
| Verb | blog | Blogging. |
| Agent | blogger | A blogger. |
| Original | weblog | A weblog. |
- She posts to her blog weekly.Website.
- He blogged about the trip.Verb.
- The word dates from 1999.History.
Words with a known birthday
- Blog โ 1999, from splitting weblog as a joke
- Podcast โ 2004, coined in a newspaper article
- Meme โ 1976, coined by Richard Dawkins
- Robot โ 1920, from a Czech play by Karel ฤapek
- Nerd โ 1950, first printed by Dr. Seuss
Short for *weblog*, coined 1997, split as *we blog* in 1999 and adopted as a word in its own right.
Where does blog come from?
From weblog, split in 1999 as a joke into we blog. The second half caught on as a standalone word.
What is the difference between a blog and a website?
A blog is a kind of website, organised as dated entries with the newest first, usually written in a personal voice.