"Incel" etymology: Difference between revisions

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The terms "[[incelibate]]" or "[[incel]]" are abbreviations of "involuntary celibate". It is one of many other terms that describe involuntarily celibate people. See the articles [[synonyms]] and [[synonyms of inceldom]] for a summary. But why has the term "incel" caught on? Why haven't any of the other terms with a similar meaning been as catchy or as popularized? This can be explained by two generalized factors; (a) phonetics and (b) accuracy. [[Ton den Boon]] was the first lexicographer to define the term "incel", defining it as a gender-neutral noun, meaning someone who lives involuntarily celibate.
The terms "[[incelibate]]" or "[[incel]]" are abbreviations of "involuntary celibate". It is one of many other terms that describe involuntarily celibate people. See the articles [[synonyms]] and [[synonyms of inceldom]] for a summary. But why has the term "incel" caught on? Why haven't any of the other terms with a similar meaning been as catchy or as popularized? This can be explained by two generalized factors; (a) phonetics and (b) accuracy. [[Ton den Boon]] was the first lexicographer to define the term "incel", defining it as a gender-neutral noun, meaning someone who lives involuntarily celibate.
The only reason that incels or incelibates use an abbreviated form of the longer term is that, "incel", has only two syllables, thus is easier to say. "Incelibate" has four syllables, again easy to say. In contrast, the term  "involuntarily celibate person" has 11 syllables, which is much harder to say. Therefore, the term "incel" is to "involuntary celibate" the same thing as what "lb" is to "pound". "Incelibate" is to "involuntarily celibate" the same as what "USA" is to the "United States of America". Just because a longer term is abbreviated doesn't mean that the definition has changed. So in a nutshell, "incel" is simply an abbreviation of the term "involuntarily celibate". 


The equivocal nature of its etymological derivatives means that "incel" is a catch-all term that covers everyone who seems to be unable to get a romantic partner, unlike "[[love-shy]]" which is primarily focused on [[mentalcel]]s and "[[TFL]]" which has a specified focus on peculiar causes.  
The equivocal nature of its etymological derivatives means that "incel" is a catch-all term that covers everyone who seems to be unable to get a romantic partner, unlike "[[love-shy]]" which is primarily focused on [[mentalcel]]s and "[[TFL]]" which has a specified focus on peculiar causes.  
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