"low-waisted two-piece women's bathing suit," 1948, from French, coined 1947, named for the U.S. A-bomb test of June 1946 on Bikini, the Marshall Islands atoll, locally Pikinni and said to derive from pik "surface" and ni "coconut," but this is uncertain. Various explanations for the swimsuit name have been suggested, none convincingly, the best being an analogy of the explosive force of the bomb and the impact of the bathing suit style on men's libidos (compare c. 1900 British slang assassin "an ornamental bow worn on the female breast," so called because it was very "killing," also the figurative sense of bombshell).

Bikini, ce mot cinglant comme l'explosion même ... correspondant au niveau du vêtement de plage à on anéantissement de la surface vêtue; à une minimisation extrême de la pudeur. [ Le Monde Illustré, August 1947]

As a style of scanty briefs, from 1960.

"to dance to popular music with a strong beat," 1948 (in song title "We're gonna rock"), from rock (v.1) in an earlier blues slang sense of "cause to move with musical rhythm" (1922); often used at first with sexual overtones, as in the 1922 song title "My Man Rocks Me (with One Steady Roll)". The sense developed in early 1950s to "play or dance to rock and roll music." Also see rock (n.2). Related: Rocked; rocking.

In reference to music, by 1938 as "to have a rocking rhythm;" by 1977 as "exhibit the characteristics of rock music." To rock out "enjoy oneself to rock music" is by 1968. Rocksteady, Jamaican pop music style (precursor of reggae), is attested from 1969.

1948, shortening of bebop or rebop. The musical movement had its own lingo, which was in vogue in U.S. early 1950s. "Life" magazine [Sept. 29, 1952] listed examples of bop talk: crazy "new, wonderful, wildly exciting;" gone (adj.) "the tops—superlative of crazy;" cool (adj.) "tasty, pretty;" goof "to blow a wrong note or make a mistake;" hipster "modern version of hepcat;" dig "to understand, appreciate the subtleties of;" stoned "drunk, captivated, ecstatic, sent out of this world;" flip (v.) "to react enthusiastically."

small electronic device, 1948, from transfer + resistor, so called because it transfers an electrical current across a resistor. Said to have been coined by U.S. electrical engineer John Robinson Pierce (1910-2002) of Bell Telephone Laboratories, Murray Hill, N.J., where the device was invented in 1947. It took over many functions of the vacuum tube. Transistor radio is by 1958.

"theory or study of communication and control," coined 1948 by U.S. mathematician Norbert Wiener (1894-1964), with -ics + Latinized form of Greek kybernētēs "steersman" (metaphorically "guide, governor"), from kybernan "to steer or pilot a ship, direct as a pilot," figuratively "to guide, govern," which is of uncertain origin. Beekes agrees that "the word has no cognates" and concludes "Foreign origin is probable." The construction is perhaps based on 1830s French cybernétique "the art of governing."

The future offers very little hope for those who expect that our new mechanical slaves will offer us a world in which we may rest from thinking. Help us they may, but at the cost of supreme demands upon our honesty and our intelligence. [Norbert Wiener, "God and Golem, Inc.," 1964]

"salutatory gesture made by bringing the palms together and bowing," by 1948, from Hindi, from Sanskrit namas "bowing" (from namas- "obeisance," from PIE root *nem- "assign, allot; take") + te, dative of tuam "you" (singular). Attested as a word of greeting by 1880 [The Theosophist, September].

1948, in reference to the technology, short for facsimile (telegraphy). Meaning "a facsimile transmission" is by 1980. The verb attested by 1970. Related: Faxed; faxing.

Futurists predict that a "fax" terminal in the house or business office may someday complement or even replace the mail-carrier. [Scientific American, 1972]

also schlimazel, etc., "born loser, unlucky person," 1948, from Yiddish phrase shlim mazel "rotten luck," from Middle High German slim "crooked" (see slim (adj.)) + Hebrew mazzal "luck" (as in mazel tov). British slang shemozzle "an unhappy plight" (1889) probably is from the same source. Compare schlemiel.

A shlemiel is the fellow who climbs to the top of a ladder with a bucket of paint and then drops it. A shimazl is the fellow on whose head the bucket falls. [Rep. Stephen J. Solarz, D.-N.Y., quoted 1986; there are many and older versions of the quip]

1948, shortened form of television (q.v.); it was used in station call letters from 1947 (as KSD-TV, etc.). It was spelled out as tee-vee by 1949. TV dinner (1954), meant to be eaten from a tray while watching a television set, is a proprietary name registered by Swanson & Sons, Omaha, Nebraska, and was marketed to housewives as a convenience.

Watch your favorite TV Shows and serve a turkey dinner, too! New Swanson TV Turkey Dinners mean you can skip cooking entirely ... no pots and pans to clean, either! [newspaper advertisement, April 1954]

1948, in the manufacturing sense, "the large-scale use of automatic equipment in production," coined by Ford Motor Co. Vice President Delmar S. Harder, from automatic (adj.) + -ion. Earlier (1838) was automatism, which meant "quality of being automatic" in the classical sense.