Vol. 10 · Portmanteaus ·Mid-century: TV and science ·1964
Quasar
quasi-stellar radio source
- Meaning
- An extremely luminous active galactic nucleus.
- Source words
- quasi-stellar + radio source
- Coined by
- Hong-Yee Chiu
- Year
- 1964
Background
Coined by astrophysicist Chiu in *Physics Today* as a shorter form of "quasi-stellar radio source." The -ar suffix later productive for "pulsar" and "magnetar."
Mid-century: TV and science
Two engines dominated: television (sitcom, televangelist) and post-war big science (pulsar, transistor). Many mid-century coinages came from scientific style sheets and industry journals.
Two words, one coinage.
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