Vol. 10 · Portmanteaus ·Mid-century: TV and science ·1958
Meritocracy
merit aristocracy
- Meaning
- Rule by people selected for ability; a system rewarding talent over birth.
- Source words
- merit + aristocracy
- Coined by
- Michael Young
- Year
- 1958
Background
Young's *The Rise of the Meritocracy* coined the word as a dystopian warning. He meant it pejoratively; it has since been reclaimed as a positive, to Young's exasperation (he wrote a 2001 *Guardian* column protesting the reversal).
Mid-century: TV and science
Two engines dominated: television (sitcom, televangelist) and post-war big science (pulsar, transistor). Many mid-century coinages came from scientific style sheets and industry journals.
Two words, one coinage.
Browse every portmanteau on the shelf — or cross over to the loanwords atlas.