Vol. 10 · Portmanteaus ·Contemporary (2000–) ·2008
Nomophobia
no-mobile phobia
- Meaning
- Fear of being without a mobile phone or phone signal.
- Source words
- no-mobile + phobia
- Coined by
- UK YouGov study
- Year
- 2008
Background
Named by a YouGov study commissioned by the UK Post Office. A portmanteau of a negated phrase rather than two full words; psychologists have since debated whether it names a real clinical condition or a marketing construct.
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.
Browse every portmanteau on the shelf — or cross over to the loanwords atlas.