Meaning
What does Weirdo mean?
Weirdo is a slang term for people, who are odd or strange, either in appearance or in behavior.
A “weirdo” is usually the kid in school, that differs from the rest; someone who contrasts to the norm.
The term comes from the word weird to describe something uncanny or bizarre.
via MEME
Origin
What's the origin of Weirdo?
The term weird originally retained a different meaning; referring to someone who holds control of their own fate.
Weird shifted into its current meaning of strangeness and oddity during the 19th century.
The expression “weirdo” was first documented in the 1950’s.
It got created from the term weird, combined with the suffix –o, used to create a noun for people, acting different from the ordinary, similar to sicko.
Spread & Usage
How did Weirdo spread?
“Weirdo” had become one of the most popular nouns to bestow on our strange family members, as well as people with some serious mental illness, that makes them repulsively strange.
The expression is very ambivalent; being used both as an insult and a compliment.
The most well-known use of the term probably comes from the famous Radiohead song Creep.
Urban Dictionary added the term to its archives as early as 2005, with a plethora of other definitions written since then.
External resources
- Dictionary.com – weirdo