Americans have a good vocabulary for the people they perceive as smarter or more studious than themselves. Most of the terms have been used as slurs, many have also been embraced by the studious set. Here is a look at the origins and definitions of those terms.
Nerd— origin 1960-65, means either a stupid, irritating, ineffectual, unattractive person or a single-minded, nonsocial intelligent person, [either having more or] lacking the social grace of a geek
Geek— origin 1915-20 derived from geck —fool, means any smart person with an obsessive interest, odd person, computer expert, a peculiar or dislikable person perceived to be overly intellectual
Dweeb—origin 1980-85, means mega-nerd, nerd, wimp
Dork— origin 1960-65, means a stupid or ridiculous person, jerk, nerd
Clearly, smart and stupid are equal and interchangeable offenses. Wisdom without grace is little better than folly. And, as always, anything not understood is considered inferior.
I have always felt nerd lacked the punch behind geek, but the internet does not currently agree with my view.
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