foodie

Etymology

It is formed from English food + -ie.^[2][3][4][5] The Oxford Dictionary of New Words places it among the many words in -ie of the 1980s for fans of a thing, as groupie is,^[6] and Dictionary.com suggests that the ending was partly taken from junkie.^[7] The OED compares the rare “foodist”.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

A person with a keen interest in food: 1980, in Gael Greene's column in New York magazine (2 June).^[4][8] Merriam-Webster and Etymonline date it to 1982,^[3][2] and the New Partridge Dictionary of Slang records British use in 1982.^[9]

Semantic evolution

According to Barry Popik, Greene's 1980 use and the London use of 1982–83 by Paul Levy and Ann Barr arose independently;^[8] Levy and Barr made the word popular with The Official Foodie Handbook (1984).^[8][6][10] The Oxford Dictionary of New Words describes the foodie as a creation of the early 1980s, fed by newspaper colour supplements and food magazines, and interested in preparing, reading and talking about food as well as eating it.^[6] Early uses were often mocking: Cassell's describes the first foodies as people who fussed excessively over buying and cooking food.^[10] Merriam-Webster's Collegiate stressed an interest in the latest food fads,^[11] while later dictionaries define simply a person keenly interested in good food.^[3][12]

Timeline

• 1980 – a person with a keen interest in food, in New York magazine.^[4][8]
• 1984 – The Official Foodie Handbook, by Ann Barr and Paul Levy.^[6][10]

Meanings

Noun

1. (informal) A person with an enthusiastic interest in good food, its preparation and its latest trends; a gourmet: Our neighbour, a keen foodie, knows every new bistro in town.^{[12][3][4][5]}

Related words

• food
• groupie
• junkie
• foodist

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c d e Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c d Knowles, Elizabeth; Elliott, Julia, eds. (1997), The Oxford Dictionary of New Words, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
8. ^ a b c d Popik, Barry, The Big Apple, barrypopik.com, p. "Foodie", 28 March 2009
9. ^ Dalzell, Tom; Victor, Terry, eds. (2013), The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English, 2nd ed., London: Routledge
10. ^ a b c Cassell's Dictionary of Word and Phrase Origins, London: Cassell
11. ^ Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
12. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins