Vol. 10 · Portmanteaus ·Late 20th century ·1978
Fembot
female robot
- Meaning
- A humanoid female robot, especially in fiction.
- Source words
- female + robot
- Coined by
- *The Bionic Woman* writers
- Year
- 1978
Background
First used on the TV series *The Bionic Woman* (season 2, 1976–77; the word hit print in 1978). Later revived by *Austin Powers* (1997). Feminist critics have used *fembot* as a critique of gendered representation in AI; the sci-fi sense predates the scholarly one.
Late 20th century
Marketing, media, and the early internet. Infomercial, emoticon, workaholic — the coinages name phenomena of mass media and white-collar life. Several predate the decades they're associated with.
Two words, one coinage.
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