Vol. 10 · Portmanteaus ·Contemporary (2000–) ·2012
Man-bun
man bun
- Meaning
- A bun hairstyle worn by a man — typically gathered above or behind the head.
- Source words
- man + bun
- Coined by
- collective
- Year
- 2012
Background
Trend-piece journalism coined it around 2012 in profiles of Brooklyn barbers. By 2015 the man-bun had its own Instagram accounts, backlash pieces, and corporate-ban memos.
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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