This week’s theme
Is it a noun or a verb? Both!

This week’s words
windbag
rizz
deadname

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A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(DED-naym)

MEANING:

noun: The former name of a person.
verb tr.: To call someone using their former name.

ETYMOLOGY:

From dead + name. Earliest documented use: noun: 2010, verb: 2013.

NOTES:

It never fails to surprise me how many people who claim to be for freedom, liberty, autonomy, and keeping government out of personal life are in favor of getting government into the lives of other people, such as people who are trans or gay.

If your official name is Michael, but you prefer to be called Mike, I’ll happily call you Mike. Or maybe you like Mikey, or Mick, or Mickey, or any of the other variants? Why should anyone have a problem? Yet, some folks find it hard to extend the same courtesy to a trans person and insist on using a name that no longer reflects who they are. Calling someone by their chosen name costs nothing and buys dignity.

Some choose to couch their bigotry as trying to protect the kids. There is no evidence to support the fear that trans people pose a safety risk in bathrooms. If that’s the concern they should ban lawmakers from going to the loo. There have been many instances of lawmakers involving lewd conduct in bathrooms.

USAGE:

“‘Scooter? ...’
‘That’s what everybody calls me. I prefer it to my deadname.’
David Gerrold; North Station Blues; Analog Science Fiction & Fact (Miami, Florida); Jul/Aug 2025.

“‘There are people who refuse to use my correct name or pronouns, they’ve deadnamed me, all those sorts of things. But it’s been 16 years since I transitioned; I don’t really care,’ [Erica] Deuso said.”
Katie Bernard; Her Mayoral Campaign Focus Is Not on Gender; Philadelphia Inquirer (Pennsylvania); Oct 29, 2025.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: