Language Change and Culture

Year	Word	Etymology/ Cultural Importance	OED: First occurrence	Google Books: First	Google Books: History	COHA: First	COHA: HIstory
1851	Bloomers	Started with feminist Amelia Bloomer as a way to shorten dresses while remaining modest.	1851	Not working	1860 Slowly rose from 1850 until 1920 when it leveled out.	1847 “if so many of the delegates had not worn bloomer dresses.”	Went gradually up and then dropped down until 1950 when used in a piece of fiction.
1872	jambalaya	A type of stew found in Cajun Louisianna but originating in Southern France, also used to mean any mixture of ingredients	1872	1896 “The editors of Tulane’s Annual, “Jambalaya,” are elected as follows:”	Stayed pretty low until 1990 to 2000 when it shot up.	1937 “The room was a jambalaya of terrified confusion.”	Pretty steady until jump in 2000.
1914	backpack	Started as a term for a blanket that could be folded into a “back-pack.” Moved from being a term for the wilderness to a term for a book bag.	1914	1905  “Just as handy tucked into suitcase or backpack.”	Barely grew until 1970 when it quickly rose in usage.	1950 “so his backpack chute can open without fouling.”	Slowly grew until it jumped in 2000.
1935	boondoggle	A recreational craft for Boy Scouts or cowboys; came to mean a derogatory name for a government job.	1935	1933 “A $500 per child tax credit, not some boondoggle for the rich.”	Grew until 1970 and then leveled off.	1936 “they announced that they had agreed on this boondoggle”	Grew in chunks and stayed level.
1956	brinkmanship	Used during the Cold War as a term for people who wanted to take us to the brink and played with catastrophe.	1956	1933 “To avoid the ‘brinkmanship’ inherent in the present case...”	Jumped in 1960 and then leveled out.	1956 “on this issue it is the brinkmanship of Sir Anthony Eden”	Grew until 1970, dropped off during the 1980s and returned in the 90s.
1977	Loony tunes	A cartoon	Not found	No matches	n/a	1966 “I fought for you upstairs. Loony tunes. Hi ya doc!”	Stayed pretty level, jumped in 1990s, then dropped back to where it was before.