This week’s theme
New words

This week’s words
touch grass
doomscroll
shadow ban
edgelord
nepo baby

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A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(NEH-po bay-bee)

MEANING:

noun: A person whose success is significantly aided by family connections.

ETYMOLOGY:

Short for nepotism, from Italian nepotismo, from Latin nepos (grandson, nephew) + baby. Earliest documented use: nepotism baby, since 1992; shortened form popularized c. 2020.

NOTES:

It’s a harsh world out there. Having successful, famous, or wealthy parents helps. It opens doors, smooths the path, and allows one to start not on the ground level, but in the penthouse. The point is not inherited talent so much as inherited access. A related term is trust-fund baby.

You could say their success is ... relative.

That said, being born in a family where a parent is, for example, a musician, politician, or businessperson also provides immersion. Growing up, one soaks up the sounds of music being practiced, strategy being discussed in the living room, and deals being outlined over dinner. The field becomes familiar long before it becomes professional.

The ultimate nepo babies are, of course, royalty. Nepotism is widely resented in other fields, yet somehow accepted as normal when the child of a monarch takes their place.

USAGE:

“Paramount, which is also vying for Warner Bros, also got a new owner in billionaire nepo baby David Ellison [son of Oracle’s Larry Ellison] this year.”
Calum Jaspan; Corporate Deals; Sydney Morning Herald (Australia); Dec 22, 2025.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: