Vol. 10 · Portmanteaus ·Contemporary (2000–) ·2015
Pegan
paleo vegan
- Meaning
- A hybrid diet combining paleo and plant-forward eating principles.
- Source words
- paleo + vegan
- Coined by
- Mark Hyman
- Year
- 2015
Background
Hyman, a US functional-medicine physician, coined the word in a 2015 blog post. The two diets it blends are ideologically opposed (meat-heavy vs plant-only); the blend resolves this by prioritising quality over category, which critics say produces a diet that is neither.
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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