Per Wikipedia: Nerd is a term that refers to a person who avidly pursues intellectual activities, technical or scientific endeavors, esoteric knowledge, or other obscure interests, rather than engaging in more social or conventional activities. It often carries a derogatory connotation or stereotype. The nerd may be awkward, shy and unattractive. Therefore, a nerd is often excluded from physical activity and considered a loner by peers, or will tend to associate with like-minded people.
Per Wisegeek: Nerd is a term that may be used with pride, or one that may be used in a derogatory sense. A nerd is typically a person of any race who has strong aptitude in the sciences, math, and particularly computer science, and who may also be viewed as out of step with popular culture in matters of dress, or who is socially awkward. The designation of nerd may simply be applied to a person whose uniqueness sets them apart from what is considered the “norm,” for no particular reason at all. The term is first mentioned in the Dr. Seuss book, If I Ran the Zoo, which was published in 1950.
Per Whatis: A nerd is a technically bright but socially inept person. The classic image of the nerd has been the wild-haired genius kid with thick-lensed glasses surrounded by test tubes and computers. Microsoft’s Bill Gates is sometimes considered the walking embodiment of the older, successful nerd. As computer technology becomes less frightening and “nerdish” to larger numbers of people, society seems to be developing a more tolerant, even benevolent view of the nerd.
Although the term’s origin is obscure, one theory is that it derives from a children’s book by Dr. Seuss, If I Ran the Zoo , in which this passage is found:
And then, just to show them,
I’ll sail to Ka-Troo
And bring back an it-kutch,
A preep, and a proo,
A nerkle, a nerd,
And a seersucker, too!”
