frobnitz
English
Etymology
Coined c. 1958 by David R. Sawyer of the MIT Tech Model Railroad Club (TMRC) as a fanciful name for model railroad parts, perhaps originally as a proper noun.[1] More general use presumably dates from the 1960s, as it is not found in the TMRC dictionaries of 1959 or 1960.[2]
Noun
frobnitz (plural frobnitzes)
- Synonym of gizmo
Derived terms
- frob
- frobnicate
References
- Eric S[teven] Raymond, editor (29 December 2003), “frobnicate”, in The Jargon File, version 4.4.7, quoting Peter Samson: “Under the TMRC [railroad] layout were many storage boxes, managed (in 1958) by David R. Sawyer. Several had fanciful designations written on them, such as ‘Frobnitz Coil Oil’. Perhaps DRS intended Frobnitz to be a proper name, but the name was quickly taken for the thing”.
- Peter Samson, AN ABRIDGED DICTIONARY of the TMRC LANGUAGE June 1959 (with 2005 commentary),AN ABRIDGED DICTIONARY of the TMRC LANGUAGE late summer/early fall 1960 (with 2005 commentary).
Further reading
- frobnitz at OneLook Dictionary Search