Re: Dork definition
Would YOU Know a Dork if You Saw One?
(UPDATED) In spite of what you're apt to read on any of over 10,000 Web pages, the word "dork" does not mean (and has never meant) "whale penis." I defy anyone who claims otherwise to show it defined as such in any respectable dictionary, or used as such in any novel or reference work about whales or whaling published in the past three hundred years.
Though its precise origins remain somewhat obscure, etymologists generally agree that dork — usually defined as "a stupid, foolish, or inept person" — has only been in common usage since the 1960s, and is most likely a variant of dick — which is, in fact, a slang term for penis, but not specifically that of a whale.
The Concise New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English (2007) defines it thus:
dork noun 1 the penis US, 1961. 2 a socially inept, unfashionable, harmless person US, 1964.
As in every other source I've checked, there is no mention of whales. None.
For good measure, I posed the question to several whale experts — including Professor C. Scott Baker of the OSU Dept. of Fisheries and Wildlife, John Calambokidis, senior research biologist and co-founder of Cascadia Research, Phillip Clapham of the National Marine Mammal Laboratory, and author Richard Ellis (The Book of Whales, Men and Whales, Encyclopedia of the Sea, etc.) — all of whom told me they had never seen nor heard the word dork used to refer to a whale's sexual anatomy. Ever.
In answer to various commenters below who've attempted to rebut my findings by pointing out that if enough people use the word dork to mean "whale penis" then it's a valid definition, here's what's wrong with that argument: The phenomenon we're confronted with isn't people using the word that way — almost nobody does, least of all people knowledgeable about whales — it's people claiming that it means "whale penis." And you know what? They're wrong.
All of which is by way of saying that if you ask me, the rightful definition of a dork is the sort of person who would make up something like this.
More on the definition and etymology of dork:
• WordOrigins.org
• Merriam-Webster Dictionary
• MSN Encarta Dictionary
Adventures in epithetymology:
• Origin of the F-Word: 'For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge'
• Origin of the S-Word: 'Ship High in Transit'
• Origin of The Finger: 'Pluck Yew'
Comments
Ahhh Ha! I knew that dork had only one real meaning… Very funny explanation by the way. Only a real dork would consider a “dork” to mean whale phallus. I concur!
You concur?? Only a dork would use the word “concur”.
Better check all your dictionaries again. My sister in law used to call her son a “dork”. So one day he looked it up in the dictionary at school. He came home crying “Mom you’re calling me a whale penis:”
What a movement! It would have been real surprise to your sister in law.
I suppose, Barbara, that he also told you that he looked up “gullible” in the dictionary but it isn’t there — and you believed him about that too.
I’ve got news for you: “Dork” originated in the late 1940’s/early 1950’s in Detroit, Michigan. The actual definition is: a guy who sneaks around sniffing girl’s bicycle seats. (Which proves that bizarre, vulgar and outlandish thinking and behavior did not suddenly spring into being in the 1960’s….)
After seeing the Michigan comment,it suddenly
occurred to me: could this word possibly mean,
“Dumb Or Retarded Kid”? LOL!!
But I myself go with the “clumsy” or “inept”
definition….
Someone better go change the biology books at my old high school, because that’s where I saw the word “dork” with a line next to it connecting it to a drawing of a whale. Incidentally, the line ended at the whale’s phallus.
I agree. That’s exactly where I remember seeing it too.
Yes, I learned it in biology class, too! It was in 7th grade and we were studying reproduction and we were watching a video explaining different types of animals’ reproductive systems and for the whale, it specifically named the whale penis as “dork.” This was in about 1985.
i used to feel special when my friends used to call me a dork…when i looked it up i felt so embarrassed…lol
FYI – During an epidode of “Ripleys Believe it or not” They had a 7 foot long whale penis and YES referred to it as a dork. So, producers, writers, researchers must have all got it wrong….NOT!
… and the earth is the center of the universe because they all said so.
I saw it in peson at the ripleys belive it or not in hollywood and also in london the ting was as big as i and it was called a DORK.
Wow this is amazing so many translations of Dork, but i’ve always known that it had to mean something stupit, coz the work sounds stupit.
The glaring punctuation, capitalization and spelling errors in your post only serve to illustrate exactly how much you should know about being “stupit,” you stupid dork.
Okay…so I was just told the other day that a dork is a “whale penis,” which upset me very much because it is one of my favorite names to call someone, and i didn’t want to be using it incorrectly. So I did some research. Guess what DORKS, the only place it was defined as a whale penis was at a website called urban dictionary…hmmm, doesn’t sound very credible, does it now. It is sometimes defined as a penis, but here’s the kicker, every definition says it is slang. And what does that mean…it has no scientific nor anatomical definition…someone made it up, and it stuck. So there you have, mystery solved.
Lots of words in our language started as slang.
Why don’t some of the pro-anatomical vernacular people post a link, or least offer a reference? I can’t find a reference besides urban-dictionary, which specifically deals with slang terms, and I’ve seen a number of posts claiming it never meant “whale penis”, nothing in support of the usage, certainly nothing scientific…. The first time I heard of a whale’s penis being referred to as a “dork” was by my girlfriend, who was reading Christopher Moore’s novel, “Fluke”, at the time.
When I was a teen (in the 80’s), my mother told me to stop using the word “dork” because it meant “whale penis”. I didn’t believe her and looked it up in the dictionary at my school’s library and found the definition to be: a whale penis. Sorry I never knew what dictionary I found it in, but I do know what I read.
So the conclusion is they decided to drop that part of the definition?
But the word “dork” is used in the movie “Grease”. Surely that’s irrefutable proof that the word was in use prior to the 1960s.
Grease came out in the late 1970s you “dork”.
Actually the Merriam Webster dictionary on m-w.com DID used to have its etymology of dork listed as a “whale penis” and has since changed to “perhaps alteration of dick”. I looked it up the other day (A few years after) and it was changed. I used to show people that I wasn’t kidding by pointing them t
I thought a dork was someone who farts in the bathtub and eats the bubbles.
Sorry i’ve been studing marine biology and your wrong .Dork is the definition too a blue whales penis…I take my study pretty serious ..And maybe school is not the best for some…It doesnt go in many dictionaries do too the slang of the word..How many slang words do you see in a dictionary ..mmhmmm..Well either way i study it so i should know it…Get it straight ..or dont say it at all….Wow the ignorence of swome lacking conceded people…Guess old age really does mess with brain cells.
If you are studying at school you really need to take some spelling classes. So spell it straight or do not try to spell at all.
Yeah, what kath said.
too = also
You cannot take study “pretty serious’ Rather, Studies are taken seriousLY.
Your logic of “i study it so i should know it” is blatantly flawed reasoning. I’m sure you studied English as well, so you should know it, but you plainly do NOT know it when you fail to capitalize your self identified personal pronoun “I”, cannot properly spell “ignorance” and use a verb “conceded” in place of an adjective “conceited.”
So, until you can justify yourself properly, you might want to consider shutting up. Dork.
I guess a faggit isnt a bundle of sticks either hahahaha…Because it is…
Jackie, you should consider taking an English course.
“Minke Dork” refers to a peculiar form of leather created by Recht from the foreskin of a Minke Whale penis. This term was invented as a semi-technical description of the material used in the production of a limited edition shoe- the hvalsforhúðsskór (roughly translated from Icelandic as “whales foreskin shoes”)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sruli_Recht
Bapzzy, I love reading idiotic posts from “ignorant” people (that one’s for you, Jackie). But this one takes the cake, metaphorically of course. Posting an explanation while using “Wikipedia” as a credible source of information is completely taken seriously. Ha, wrong again, Johnny Boy! Next time you decide to utilize a website as a credible source of information, please, I implore of you. CHECK… IT’S… VALIDATION! Due to the fact it will save humanity from, epic citation failure. Thank you. And please don’t come again.
Love you!
Sincerely, G00913.
I’m a 73 year old PhD. When I was a boy, back in the hills, a dork was a horse’s or mule’s penis. Yes, it is defined as a whale’s penis in dictionaries, and I have 2 old dictionaries one of which also defines it simply as penis and the other as horse’s penis! So, Mr. Emery needs to do far more thorough research before claiming such etymylogical eminence!
“Dork” is a shortening of the full, technical, binomial nomenclature for a whale penis, “Dorkus malorkus.” In early marine biology journal articles it was abbreviated as “dork.” and has since migrated into the general vernacular and lexicon.
I learned the term in my university marine biology class. Is David Emery a marine biologist? Did he talk to a marine biologist? Or maybe he just read Moby Dick?
No one here has given accurate information about the origin or meaning of dork.
Where are your sources? Wikipedia doesn’t count.
What class did you take? What biology book did you find this information in?
Keep going around telling people dork means whale penis when you can’t back up your claim.
Look up “baculum”. While it’s true that whales don’t have one, a hippopotamus, and most mammals, do.
That’s the traditional meaning of “dork”, not the penis, but the “penis bone”, or “baculum”.
lol.. @ rick’s reply to antman
I’m with Jessica on this one- I still firmly believe the dictionary definition I read way back, 6th grade style, when (when research actually meant finding, reading and citing sources- not just “well the internet said…”), it would be nice to see someone here actually cite and reference a source book to quell this discussion once and for all.
If all you feel able to spout out at anytime is “the internet told me this and the internet told me that” without doing any kind of solid research into etymological or, considering the subject matter, marine biological references (that yes, may have been changed recently to avoid hurting the feelings of the socially inept), then please don’t waste our frigging time. Library cards are free and you don’t need a valid ID to be able to walk into one and read the words off the pages.
I first looked up the word in 1989 in (I think) the World Book Dictionary- I’m guessing, since my school system was chronically underfunded, that the dictionary/encyclopedia set itself may have been originally published in the mid to late 60s. Whatever edition it was it listed ‘dork’ as that most infamous of mammalian organs…. (mine.) (haha) I tormented my fellow classmates with the word, because only I knew what it really meant, while they spent all their time beating me up (ah, the good old days) for knowing what words like that meant.
Don’t take some “internet expert”’s word as gold- ever; always cite your sources; for the hell of it, and to gain a clearer picture of the world and yourself, cite MULTIPLE sources- and most importantly, please above high-please, don’t get suckered into the whole Fox Media style culture where the going maxim is “this one person said this, so it must be right.” Find more than one way to back yourself up.
And my friend David Emery, you have yet to do any of that. Considering, for the real title of this ‘article’: “DON’T TRUST david emery’s urban legends blog IF YOU KNOW HOW TO DO RESEARCH ON YOUR OWN”
Dear Mike,
For all your talk about doing one’s own research, citing multiple references, not trusting David Emery, yadda yadda yadda, etc., you still failed to cite any sources at all to prove that “dork” means “whale penis.” How come?
Look up “baculum”. While it’s true that whales don’t have one, a hippopotamus, and most mammals, do.
That’s the traditional meaning of “dork”, not the penis, but the “penis bone”, or “baculum”.
Q.E.D.
Dorkus malorkus is a fictitious Latin phrase made up by Bart Simpson presumably based on the word dork. In the episode “Bart on the Road”, Bart announces that he is going to the National Grammar Rodeo and his sister, Lisa, protests.
:Lisa: It’s not fair. I’m the best student in school, how come I never heard about this competition?
:Bart: Maybe because you are, as we say in Latin, a “dorkus malorkus.”
:Lisa: That’s not Latin. Mom, Bart’s faking it.
:Marge: Lisa, you’ve had your glory. Now it’s Bart’s turn.
Wow good call . . . . nerd.
If Mike was beat up in school, then Mike is a dork.
If David makes claims without evidence, then he is an even bigger dork. We can undoubtedly conclude that this string is a battle of the biggest whale penises on About.com
PS: Lol at Antman and to The Simpsons reference.
Actually, I looked the word “dork”. It means it is a vulgar way of saying penis. So, get over the fact that it doesn’t mean whale penis. For god sake, whoever came up with that is an idiot!
omg you r soooooo right
omg thats embarrising my mom and dad used to call me that alot
omg my mom and dad used to call me that alot im so embarressed
Words are allowed to have multiple definitions, you know. “Orange” is a color as well as a fruit. “Book” is an item and a verb. “Literally” is generally understood as meaning “in hyperbole”.
So why not treat the word “dork” as any other word, and let the context clarify its definition?
If I am talking about whales reproducing in an informal context, I might expect someone to use the word “dork”. If I am talking about my nephew, I *do* expect to hear the word “dork,” with multiple voice inflections. Do they mean the same thing? No.
This isn’t a new concept. Both definition are now accepted as true. Get over it.
~Kai
Kai, your argument would have merit if people actually used the word “dork” to mean “whale penis.” They don’t. The problem isn’t that “dork” has multiple meanings. The problem is that people claim it’s used in a way that it isn’t.
Ok, just because someone can’t remember where they read something doesn’t mean they’re stupid or that they’re lying. When I was a little girl, our family dictionary did list the definition of dork as “a whale’s penis,” along with a dictionary my grandparents had and a dictionary from my elementary school. I no longer have access to any of those dictionaries and cannot tell you the names of them but I know they were official dictionaries. All of the references to that particular definition are no doubt very old as people keep saying they remember this reference from a long time ago. It seems to me that the definition has been altered in sources to suit a changing vernacular. If the whale-related definition is truly incorrect, than a LOT of old dictionaries got it wrong because I saw it more than once as I already stated. The internet is VERY young compared to print. Just because you can’t find a reference to something online doesn’t mean it never existed.
Exactly! That’s an excellent point!
The word for whale penis is oosik.
If you Sir in this and many things threw out it and look up the word DORK on the net or in the DICTIONARY. The sec difnition of DORK in (PENIS) thank you all and have a every nice day bye bye now….
Australasian snapper, a species of sparidae fish sometimes called “dork” that is the fish called a “DORK”
I can’t believes it matters! It is what it is.. not important. Unless you’re the blue whale of course !
i know i can only imagine how a blue whale would feel about all these people arguing about it, and honestly, when people do call me a dork i just laugh because i dont know whether it is a whales penis or a stupid person, and for everyone, it can mean BOTH shocking i know right? Take the word “ass” for instance, it is referred to as a donkey, a silly/stupid person, and a butt. this can end now if we just agree it means both… doubt that will happen.
1. The blue whale’s penis, or dork, is the largest that ever existed. The average size for an adult male is 5m (15ft). The testicules weigh 10kg (22 pounds). The blue whale can produce between 3 – 20 gallons of sperm during its mating season.
Honestly the fact that people can take the time to argue about the name of a whale’s penis or just another slang word in a world where slang words are invented daily shows several things….. 1) You people clearly are RETARDED (care to look up the meaning or origin of that word too?) 2) You all need to find hobbies! And 3) Perhaps your immaturity has lead you to look into what to call a whales penis…. I mean really?! Are you looking to get into beastiality or what?! Sick people!!!
“Grownup” writes:
“Perhaps your immaturity has lead you to look into what to call a whales penis…”
So how did YOU get here? Thou dost protest too much.
Euphemism, try the definition of that. who says dork can;t be a euphemism that has been forgotten like “framed” with no proof. Dork, gosh that sounds a lot like the British term wanker (meaning jerk like dork). Guess what a definition is?! what the majority says it means or common meaning. Bad was bad and only bad, until Micheal Jackson came along and bad suddenly meant great!. It’s how slang becomes common place. so if i say a picture of someone looks about as awkward as a whales enormous wanker, phallus , inconcinnus, dork then i guess they’re still a dork if that’s what everyone else thinks it means. better yet lets stop making up slang words at go back to Latin
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/dork
This dictionary site mentions the definition.
dork/dôrk/
Noun:
derogatory. A dull, slow-witted, or socially inept person.
vulgar. The penis.
Dictionary.com Answers.com
Merriam-Webster The Free Dictionary
4 diff. site that all say that dork means penis
Folks, please read more carefully. What’s at issue is NOT whether dork means penis, but whether it means whale penis.
I reluctantly recall being in my debate class and looking at a Webster Dictionary and seeing the whale pennies thing. I may be wrong but look at the late ninety’s version of the Dictionary. If I’m wrong Sorry if I’m right Sorry to break it to you. I’m an English professor and I’m really hoping I’m wrong.
An oosik is a walrus’ penis bone.
As a kid I heard someone being called a “dork” when I was 10 or 11- (1961-1962) and when I asked what a dork was, it was explained to me then that a dork was someone who went around smelling bicycle seats… Hey– I’m just sayin what I was told…
hahaha, you guys are so butthurt about this! Dork means “whale penis” to me for the past ten years, & maybe eventually it’ll be in all the dictionaries! So shut up and laugh it off. you’re all a bunch of nerds! hehe
Folks,
The Matrix has us!! It is trying to erase a previous definition we have all read in a dictionary as kids and replace it with another term. We must fight the Matrix!!
I remember reading it too, I have also seen the definition to be a horse’s penis which made sense as the o-r from horse and the d-k from dick could be combined for that word.
Alas none of us has a copy of those dictionaries or we would have scanned a copy of it into the computer and posted it by now to end this ridiculous argument.
If you remember seeing it then good and keep remembering it. If you have only looked up the term recently on the internet or current dictionaries then you would not know what the rest of us speak of.
A “Dork” Is Some one who would spend there time looking this up!
you’re all a bunch of dork…. heads…
Dear Mr Emery
I have read pretty well all of these comments (particularly like your “(methinks) thou dost protest too much”).
Certainly many of the comments were completely unrelated to the subject.. “Dork” isn’t in my 1929 copy of the Concise Oxford Dictionary; nor the 1979 version of Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary. I won’t list the other tomes NOT containing the word! Suffice to say the only times I’ve heard the word were as a synonym for “dullard” or “stupid person” (or other slang variatons on those).
I’m 72 now & have been reading (including dictionaries!) since I was 4, so have a relatively good command of the language, as do other women of my generation!
#26 Jackie:
If you take your studies seriously, why don’t you study spelling?
Mr. Emery,
I find it so interesting that you have stirred up a hornets” nest about a whale penis, lol. At least you have all these people discussing it. However, I would like to say that if you agree to disagree, please be respectful of the other person in your use of language. This comment is for those of you responding to Mr. Emery’s post.
I asked my wife, who happens to come from a long line of whales, what she preferred to call my penis. She simply responded “Dork”. So it must be true.
Acully when you look up. The word dork it says both stupid and whale ******
Ya i think ill trust proven fact and Webster over some random guy and his proclaimed PHD in whale penis’s. This guy is a huge troll, its a funny troll non the less but still a troll. The sad part is this troll is clearly in his 50s by his picture which seems alittle old to be posting fake facts on a social website.
Ah, but did you read Moby Dork?
A dork is a person who farts in the bathtub and bites the bubbles!
I saw the word dork posted on the wall with “whale penis” underneath for a display of a gray whale penis at the San Diego Natural History Museum. This was about 25 years ago.
you guys are funny as and i thought i was stoned hehe
It is also known as a synonym
In high school, dork was used to refer to the outsiders, not cool, or perceived weird people. To GROWNUP: As a parent of a mentally challenged and multiply-handicapped child, I find your use of the word retard very offensive. The unfortunate should be protected not used as a joke for small-minded people like you. Watch your words. They hurt.
Oosik is a native alasakan term for a walrus, and seal penis bones (and probably many other mammailian penis bones) Inuit i believe.
The latin term for penis bone is os penis. Literally.
Baculum is also used as penis but is latin for stick or staff.
Not too complicated.
Apparently, neither “pork”, nor “dork” appear to be English in origin. That’s most probably why the term “pork” shifted its meaning from a grown living pig to denote its product/meat. Whereas, Dork almost, or completely phased out retaining only it figurative meaning which somehow relates or invokes our impression sensing of whale. Sow! What is it?!
A “dork” is a name for a female “pork” which (by the way) is the original name of a “Pig” -so there were pork’s and dork’s. And a dork is a sow ‘veteran’, that recently gave ‘birth’.
The interesting part:
During this phase this fully grown of up to 100kg (220 lb) female pork [pig] is regarded as a “dork”. This phase is characterized with lenient lethargic behavior, laziness, unwillingness; the dork does nothing but lay down in a mud as some grand piece of a fat meat (which may associate with our depicting of a whale) feeding its pilings. The dork(ing) phase is relatively short as is was the only period during which a sow is a dork . And may originate from old Illyrian or vulgar Latin dorcus(1).
1. See Albanian meaning of “derrkuc” and its similarity to dorkus/porcus; and a short form “dosa” which may have contracted from “dorc-a” which in turn is an exact equivalent of a breeding sow; a dork, or a mother pig.
You are all dorks… Just saying Meaning: ignorant whale penises hahahahahaaa jk but your comments are hilarious, none-the-less annnd entertaining I mean, who the heck really cares? The word cock either means a rooster or a penis. Who cares? Why do we get Dick from Richard? The English language is soooo freaking weird. To, two, too- all pronounced the same BUT have three different meanings.
I’m just saying that all your arguments are foolish.
Go ahead and talk about my improper grammar and my misspelled words. I don’t care…. But all this, is indeed, meaningless. Just saying.
Have a great and blessed life!
Bdiscountsectional Sofasx says:
You concur?? Only a dork would use the word “concur”.
Do you know what being inept is? It has nothing to do with using words that aren’t often used by the majority of society. Referring to him as a “nerd” may have been more appropriate.