English words first recorded in the 20th century

It is borrowed from Italian fascismo, formed from fascio (“bundle; political group”) and -ismo (“-ism”), from Late Latin fascium, from Latin fascis (“bundle”). The Latin plural, the source of…

It is formed from English neutral + -on, after electron and proton. Klein takes it directly from Latin neuter (“neither”), on the analogy of electron. Etymonline says that the American chemist…

Most dictionaries treat it as a natural exclamation. The OED suggests that it may be shortened from upsadaisy, or that it is a natural exclamation that became confused with that word; Etymonline and…

It is formed from English pro- + active. The OED says the psychological sense was modelled on retroactive, and the general sense on reactive, probably with the influence of pro- "in favour of"; the…

It is borrowed from Norwegian slalåm (“skiing race; literally, sloping track”), formed from Norwegian sla (“sloping”) + låm (“track”). The American Heritage Dictionary and Collins give the first…

It is formed from English work + flow.

It is borrowed from Spanish chipotle, also chilpotle, in the Spanish of Mexico, recorded there by 1845 as chilpocle. The Spanish word is from Nahuatl chīlpōctli, which the American Heritage and…

It is a back-formation from English escalator. The noun was a trade name for a moving staircase made by the Otis Elevator Company in the United States, recorded from 1900, and was coined from…

The origin is uncertain. It is probably of African origin: perhaps from Gullah moco (“witchcraft, magic”), compared with Fula moco'o (“medicine man”). Etymonline thinks it probably of Creole origin…

It is formed from English motivation + -al. Motivation is from motive and -ation, probably partly after French motivation and German Motivation; motive goes back through motīvus (“moving…

It is formed from operation and -al.

It is formed from English poly- + ester, as a term of the international scientific vocabulary. Etymonline takes the first part as short for polymer.

It is formed from English pre- + sequel, or, as the OED and Merriam-Webster analyse it, from pre- and the ending “-quel” of that noun. Hendrickson notes that several authors have claimed to have…

It is formed from English sparkle + -y, from the noun or the verb. Sparkle in turn is formed from spark with a frequentative or diminutive suffix.

It is a shortening of brassiere.

It is borrowed from Latin media, the plural of medium (“the middle; a means”), used as the plural of English medium, from medius (“middle”). It is related to mid, middle, mediate, median and…

It is formed from Latin sonus (“sound”) (see sound) and -ic, perhaps on the pattern of phonic. The Latin word is from Proto-Indo-European *swen- (“to sound”).

It is formed from English ultra- + sonic, "beyond" the range of sound. The adjective is from Latin sonus (“sound”), from Proto-Indo-European *swen- (“to sound”), and the prefix from ultrā (“beyond”).

It is formed from English ultra- (“beyond”) + sound (“noise, what is heard”), sound here being the noun meaning noise. The prefix is from Latin ultrā (“beyond, on the farther side”), which…

It is formed from English zip + -er, probably as an agent noun from the verb, and was originally a trademark. The American Heritage Dictionary relates that the name was registered in 1925 by B. F…

It is borrowed from Latin id (“it”), used to translate German Es “it”, which Freud used as a noun in Das Ich und das Es (1923), translated as The Ego and the Id. Groddeck used es in the same way in…

It is formed from English private + -ization. The OED instead derives it from the verb privatize with the suffix -ation, and compares the earlier nouns privatizing and reprivatization. For the verb…

It is from English race + -ist, probably after French raciste.

It is from shit with the suffix -y; the older adjective was shitten.

It is a shortening of biography, its pronunciation probably influenced by bio- in words such as biochemistry. Earlier shortenings were biograph (1865) and biog (1942).

It is borrowed from Yiddish קלאָץ (klots, “block, lump; wooden beam; clumsy person”), from Middle High German kloz (“lump, block, ball, tree stump”), from Old High German. In German Klotz has also…

It is borrowed from French lipide, coined in 1923 by the French biochemist Gabriel Bertrand from Ancient Greek λίπος (lípos, “fat, grease”) and the chemical suffix -ide. Barnhart suggests that the…

It is formed from English make + over, a noun made from the phrasal verb make over, to refashion or remake. Etymonline dates make over in the sense "to refashion, reconstruct" to the 1690s, and in…

It is a blend from English motor + hotel. Barnhart and Etymonline cite the magazine “Hotel Monthly” of March 1925, which reported a plan for a chain of “motor hotels” between San Diego and Seattle…

It is formed from English re- (“again”) + cycle, the verb cycle meaning to pass through a cycle.

It is formed from English capacity + -or, the agent-noun ending added to capacity in its electrical sense. Capacity itself is from Old French capacité, from Latin capācitās (“capacity, ability to…

The OED takes it as borrowed from French exclusivité, formed on the adjective exclusive with the suffix -ity; Etymonline derives it within English from the same two parts. The adjective goes back to…

It is a shortened and altered form of refrigerator, an unusual kind of word-formation in English, perhaps influenced by Frigidaire (1919), a popular early brand of self-contained refrigerator, a…

It is borrowed from German Genom, coined in 1920 by the German botanist Hans Winkler, a blend of Gen (“gene”) and Chromosom (“chromosome”). The OED and American Heritage analyse the English word as…

It is formed from English holism + -istic, on the pattern of pairs such as optimism and optimistic. The OED analyses it as Ancient Greek ὅλος (hólos, “whole”) with the English suffix -istic. Both…

It is formed from English hormone + -al. hormone is from Ancient Greek ὁρμῶν (hormôn, “that which sets in motion”), the present participle of ὁρμάω (hormáō, “to set in motion, urge on”), from ὁρμή…

1. It is probably partly a back-formation from hyperbole, and partly from underworld slang hype, to swindle by overcharging or short-changing (1926), apparently a back-formation from hyper, a…

The origin is uncertain. The American Heritage Dictionary, Merriam-Webster and Collins call it unknown. Barnhart and Etymonline take it from African American speech and probably from an African…

It is formed from English totality + -arian, after Italian totalitario (“complete, absolute; totalitarian”). Etymonline, the American Heritage Dictionary, Merriam-Webster and Barnhart analyse it…

It is imitative, originally of the sound of one type of car horn, one of several that came into use after the klaxon appeared about 1910. Barnhart likewise describes it as formed in English in…

It is from English behavior + -al.

It was formed in 1927 from English estrus + -o- + -gen (“producing”), so named for the hormone's ability to bring on the heat of female animals. Merriam-Webster treats it as an international…

It is formed from English down + time, with down as an adjective, "not working". It is also written “down-time” or “down time”.

It is a colloquial shortening and alteration of independent.

It is borrowed from Spanish macho (“male; masculine, virile”), used in Spanish chiefly of male animals; the Shorter Oxford and the Oxford Dictionary of English take it from the Mexican Spanish use…

It is formed from English robot + -ic. The OED notes that the adverb robotically is recorded slightly earlier. The base noun is from Czech robot, introduced in Karel Čapek's 1920 play “Rossum’s…

It is a shortening of sensory, probably on the pattern of motor, or an agent noun of Latin form from sense. Merriam-Webster and Collins derive it from Latin sēnsus (“perceived”), the past participle…

It is a compound, from English sound + track, perhaps suggested by the earlier use of track for phonograph recordings.

It is a compound from English space + craft, formed after the model of aircraft.

It is formed from English tele- + -cast, the first part standing for television and the second taken from broadcast. Dictionary.com likewise analyses it as a shortening of television joined to the…

It is from English life + style, also written life-style.

It is borrowed from French montage (“a mounting; assembling”), formed from monter (“to mount”) and -age, the verb being Old French monter (“to go up, ascend”), from Vulgar Latin *montō, from Latin…

It is the noun use of the verb phrase play back, formed from English play + back.

It is formed from English smooth + -ie, first as American college slang. The drink was named for its smooth consistency. It is also spelled smoothy.

It is a shortening of synchronization or synchronize, also spelled synch.

It is of unknown origin. Merriam-Webster suggests a Scots word for gravel, Collins a form based on chaff, and Etymonline notes that it is identical with a dialect variant of chat, a dry twig or dry…

It is formed from English cheese + -burger, the ending taken from hamburger. The OED notes that the short form burger is recorded later than this compound.

It is formed from English global + -ization, perhaps after French globalisation, which the OED dates to 1904. Etymonline instead takes it as a noun of action from globalize. Wilton finds the French…

It is formed from English bio- (“life”) + mass (“body of matter”). The prefix comes from Greek, where it meant one's life or way of living, and the noun, through Old French masse (“lump, heap”)…

It is formed from English inter- + disciplinary. The Shorter Oxford analyses it as inter- with discipline and -ary. Disciplinary is from Medieval Latin disciplinarius, from Latin disciplīna…