Vol. 10 · Portmanteaus ·Contemporary (2000–) ·1994
Hacktivist
hacker activist
- Meaning
- Someone who uses hacking as a form of political protest or activism.
- Source words
- hacker + activist
- Coined by
- Cult of the Dead Cow (hacker collective)
- Year
- 1994
Background
Attributed to a 1994 posting by a cDc member; mainstream usage followed the 2000s rise of groups like Anonymous. Added to the OED in 2014.
Contemporary (2000–)
Faster coinage, faster canonisation. Brexit and podcast both reached the OED within a decade of first use — historically rapid. Social media has made visibility, not invention, the rate-limiting step.
Two words, one coinage.
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