Birth of a Word, 1833

As addressed a few essays ago, we all use everyday words and never think about the origins of those words and the maybe enormous implications of their adoption. At least not until some author or other makes that word centerpiece of a larger story. Such is the case with the word “scientist.” Its common use arose in 1833 according to author Renée Bergland in “Natural Magic: Emily Dickinson, Charles Darwin, and the Dawn of Modern Science” (2024). Bergland is Professor of Literature and Creative Writing at Simmons University in Boston. “Natural Magic” is defined by Bergland in the context of the overlapping 19th-century times of Charles Darwin (1809-1882) and Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) by this: “The study of nature embraced many overlapping approaches. Collecting and classifying object…