Vol. 10 · Portmanteaus ·Late 20th century ·1991
Carjacking
car hijacking
- Meaning
- Stealing a car by force from its driver.
- Source words
- car + hijacking
- Coined by
- unknown
- Year
- 1991
Background
Coined in US news reporting during a sharp early-1990s rise in violent car theft. The 1992 US Anti Car Theft Act made carjacking a federal crime, and the word entered legal vocabulary almost immediately after mass use.
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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