[PRL] OED word of the day

[Mitchell Wand]

So while I was nearby, I checked the OED word of the day, which was:

geek, n.

Brit. /gik/, U.S. /gik/  Forms: 18- geek, 19 geke. [Origin uncertain;
perh. orig. a variant of GECK n.1 

  The following prob. shows a transmission error for gecke (see GECK
  n.1) rather than the present word: 
  a1616 SHAKESPEARE Cymb. (1623) V. v. 161 To taint his Nobler hart &
  braine, with needlesse ielousy, And to become the geeke and scorne
  o'th'others vilany.]  

    I. Simple uses.

    1. slang (chiefly U.S.).    a. orig. Eng. regional (north.). A person, a fellow, esp. one who is regarded as foolish, offensive, worthless, etc.
 
  1876 F. K. ROBINSON Gloss. Words Whitby, Gawk, Geek, Gowk or Gowky,
  a fool; a person uncultivated; a dupe. 1908 H. C. FISHER in
  B. Blackbeard A. Mutt (1977) 62 A geek who spends his spare time
  making Czar-removers was slammed into the city cooler. 1916 Wells
  Fargo Messenger Oct. 29/2 A new Wells agent struck our town the
  other week, and say--you never saw a more enthusiastic geek! 1951
  N. ALGREN Chicago (2001) v. 59 The jungle hiders come softly forth:
  geeks and gargoyles, old blown winos, sour stewbums and grinning
  ginsoaks. 1971 H. S. THOMPSON Let. 1 June in Fear & Loathing in
  Amer. (2000) 393 The Aspen zip code is 81611. These hamwit geeks go
  crazy when they get something addressed to two different postal
  areas. 1986 C. MATHESON & E. SOLOMON Bill & Ted's Excellent
  Adventure (film script) 86 Freud. (to the girls) Hi, I'm Sigmund
  Freud. The girls giggle some more. Freud. (stroking his goatee) You
  both seem to be suffering from a mild form of hysteria. Girl #1. (to
  Freud) You geek. 2001 C. GLAZEBROOK Madolescents 173 The Elbow's
  heaving with bimboids and geeks who work in banks and stuff. 
 

    b. Freq. depreciative. An overly diligent, unsociable student; any
    unsociable person obsessively devoted to a particular pursuit
    (usually specified in a preceding attrib. noun). Cf. NERD n. 
 
  1957 J. KEROUAC Let. 1 Oct. in Sel. Lett. 1957-69 (1999) 66
  Unbelievable number of events almost impossible to remember,
  including..Brooklyn College wanted me to lecture to eager students
  and big geek questions to answer. 1980 E. A. FOLB Runnin' down some
  Lines 239 Geek, studious person. 1991 S. J. GOULD Bully for
  Brontosaurus vi. 96 Any kid with a passionate interest in science
  was a wonk, a square, a dweeb, a doofus, or a geek. 1992 Sports
  Illustr. 14 Dec. 38/1 The article is a nine-page compilation of
  photos, diagrams and written arcana, which only a football geek
  could love. 2001 Heat 17 Nov. 83/1 The acerbic Enid starts hanging
  out with the middle-aged record-collecting geek Seymour. 

    c. spec. A person who is extremely devoted to and knowledgeable
    about computers or related technology.  In this sense, esp. when
    as a self-designation, not necessarily depreciative.
 
  1984 Bye in net.jokes (Usenet newsgroup) 20 Feb., I was a lonely
  young computer geek With a program due 'most every week. 1989
  C. STOLL Cuckoo's Egg xlvi. 242 Why are you trying to catch some
  poor computer geek who's just fooling around? 1993 R. RUCKER et
  al. Mondo 2000 122/1 Geek is the proud, insider term for nerd. If
  you are not a dedicated techie, don't use this word. 2001
  Independent 4 June II. 9/1 We're the nerds, the geeks, the dweebs:
  the men and women who can spend 20 hours straight contemplating 600
  bytes of obscure, arcane, impenetrable computer code. 
 

    2. U.S. slang. A performer at a carnival or circus whose show
       consists of bizarre or grotesque acts, such as biting the head
       off a live animal. 
 
  1919 Billboard (Cincinnati) 25 Oct. 74/4 (advt.) At LibertySnake
  charmer or geek man; would like to join show going south. 1935
  Amer. Mercury June 229 Geek, a degenerate who bites off the heads of
  chickens in a gory cannibal show. 1948 N.Y. Times Bk. Rev. 7 Mar. 25
  An amiable alcoholic who keeps a real live chicken-eating geek in
  his garden. 1961 Times Lit. Suppl. 27 Jan. 62/2 He..enslaves a
  ‘geek’, a dumb sideshow stooge whose daily routine consists of being
  exhibited in a pit which he has to dig for himself. 1975 R. DAVIES
  World of Wonders (1977) I. viii. 130, I was compelled to exhibit
  Willard as a geek... You lecture for a while on the yearning of the
  geek for raw flesh. 2001 H. BONE (title) Side show: My life with
  geeks, freaks & vagabonds in the carny trade. 
 

    II. Compounds.

    3. geek chic, a glamorization of the culture and appearance of
       geeks; the style associated with geeks. 
 
   1991 Face Feb. 34/1 In the beginning was The Word, which in 1984
   was not some sad pop programme but a cult rag called The End
   dedicated to the *geek chic of terrace culture and all its
   trappings. 1995 Evening Sun (Baltimore) 29 Mar. D1/6 Most
   pretentious fake-beatnik sunglasses: Worn by geek-chic ‘Pulp
   Fiction’ director Quentin Tarantino. 2000 N.Y. Times 3 Aug. G7/1
   The crowd is young, the style is geek chic and the latest in
   computer gadgetry is on display.