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[Dork] doesn’t have a clear etymology from online …

Comment posted on Dick short for Richard and detective by nerdforwords

[Dork] doesn’t have a clear etymology from online sources. Is it from the same origin as “dick,” or is it a contraction of “door key,” as in “door key children”–> “dorky children”? http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/dork

Recent comments by nerdforwords

Spelling Bee
What is the origin of [disgruntled]? The OED didn’t really get to the bottom of it.
Some retro HotForWords for my 2 year anniversary!
[Cipher] has an interesting secondary meaning I had never heard of before that was published in the Washington Post today: “Washington’s chorus directors and organists have simply learned to adapt to ciphers, which, in organ terminology, refers to the sounding of a pipe when no key has been pressed.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/27/AR2009022703187.html?hpid=features1&hpv=local. I suppose it comes from the same root “sifr” meaning “empty or nothing,” but I haven’t found the other definition or its origin anywhere, and the usual definition has an interesting etymology too.

Tags: Dick