dada
The origin and history of dada.
Etymology
The art-movement sense is often said to come from the French word for "hobby-horse," reportedly picked at random from a dictionary in 1916 precisely because it was silly and meant nothing serious; the baby-talk sense simply imitates an infant's first babbled sounds.
Class of 1916
dada first entered the language around 1916. Other words from the same year:
See the full Class of 1916 →