Vol. 10 · Portmanteaus ·Late 20th century ·1971
Rom-com
romantic comedy
- Meaning
- A film or TV show whose plot centres on a humorous romance.
- Source words
- romantic + comedy
- Coined by
- collective
- Year
- 1971
Background
First appears in Variety trade clippings. By the 1990s it had become genre shorthand for the Meg Ryan / Nora Ephron canon, then cooled slightly into Netflix category.
Late 20th century
Marketing, media, and the early internet. Infomercial, emoticon, workaholic — the coinages name phenomena of mass media and white-collar life. Several predate the decades they're associated with.
Two words, one coinage.
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