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trendy

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Etymology and origin of the English word trendy

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1962 Punch
Ultimate origin
Proto-West Germanic *trandijan
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
English trend
English trendy

Pronunciation

  • /ˈtɹɛndi/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English trend + -y,[2][3][4][5][6] from the noun in its sense of a prevailing new fashion, recorded from about 1950.[3] Trend is from Middle English trenden (“to roll about, turn”), from Old English trendan (“to turn round, revolve, roll”),[3][1] from Proto-West Germanic *trandijan (“to turn, roll”).[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Fashionable, up to date, following the latest trend, sometimes dismissively: 1962, in Punch.[2][3][4]

Semantic evolution

Collins labels the adjective informal British and often derogatory,[7] and the Shorter Oxford calls it colloquial and frequently derogatory.[5] The noun, a person who follows the latest fashions, is recorded from 1968 in the OED;[2] Green's Dictionary of Slang has it a year earlier, as trendies in the magazine Oz.[8] In American campus slang of the 1980s trendy could also mean simply excellent.[8]

Timeline

  • 1962 – adjective, fashionable, in Punch.[2][4][3]
  • 1967 – noun, trendies, followers of fashion.[8]
  • 1968 – noun, one who follows the latest trends.[2]
  • 1986 – American campus slang, excellent.[8]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Very fashionable; following the latest trends: a trendy wine bar.[7][4][2]
  2. Following fashion in a shallow way; faddish: trendy slogans.[4][5]

Noun

  1. A person who follows the latest trends or fashions, especially slavishly.[4][2][7]

Word family

  • trendily
  • trendiness
  • untrendy

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  7. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  8. ^ a b c d Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
Cite this entry

“Trendy.” Etymologically, 31 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/trendy. Accessed 31 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·