Word origins: Why is it called a “blog?”

I’ve been blogging for over a year now, which is a big exciting accomplishment for me! And yet, it wasn’t until this week that I stopped and thought about how weird the word blog is. It doesn’t sound very nice; in fact it sounds more like a sound you might make while throwing up. 😶

So let’s take a look and find out exactly why there’s a whole community built around this bizarre word and wonderful hobby. ^.^

Origins of the word ‘blog’

When did it first get used?
1998

What does it mean?
In this sense, it’s defined as an online journal

What did it come from?
This was a shortened and tweaked version of “web log,” which was originally a record of server requests.

Web, from World Wide Web. Not sure how many of y’all are old enough / young enough to remember that URLs used to begin with www, but that’s what it came from!

Log, in the sense of a record of observations, thoughts, etc. Think old sea captains, or Star Trek.

It’s not a new one, though!

Even though blogging in the sense we use it for writing online is still new, the word blog itself has been used in many other ways through the years. The etymology stretches back:

• 1750: to look sullen or sulky
• 1860: a servant-boy at a college (related to the British bloke)
• 1860: to beat or defeat someone (schoolboy slang)
• 1898: used of anything resembling a block or log of wood
• 1969: a generic term for any random person as in “Joe Bloggs,” a default anonymous name