The Meaning and History of Memes

The term "meme" made its debut in the New York Times Crossword in 1953 with the clue "Same: French." Its most recent appearance was on December 24, 2021, with the clue "Something that gets passed around a lot. A clue with answer meme has also appeared on Usa Today Crossword October 4

If someone doesn't understand it, how would you describe a meme in a world where internet culture is overflowing with them?

The origin of memes predates the internet. According to some linguists, humans have been employing memes as a means of communication for centuries. Memes serve as popular channels for cultural discourse and provide an avenue for engaging in online trends (and yes, we assure you, even The Times is involved). Even if you're not deeply immersed in internet culture, chances are you've unknowingly or knowingly taken part in a meme trend.

Where does the word “meme” come from?

According to XWordInfo, the term "meme" has appeared in the New York Times Crossword approximately 60 times since the puzzle's inception in the 1940s. While it is challenging to pinpoint the very first meme in history, it was British evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins who is credited with introducing the term in his 1976 book, "The Selfish Gene." In Dawkins' original concept, a "meme" was likened to a "phoneme" (the smallest unit of sound in speech) or a "morpheme" (the smallest meaningful subunit of a word), explained Kirby Conrod, a linguistics professor at Swarthmore College. To illustrate the concept of a meme—a self-replicating piece of information—Professor Conrod suggests considering an inside joke shared among friends or a jingle from an advertisement that has stuck in one's mind for two decades. This chunk of information, whether a joke or a jingle, replicates itself as humans have a tendency to share and repeat such content. When we retell the joke or sing the jingle, it becomes an instance of the meme reproducing itself. The term "meme" made its debut in the New York Times Crossword in 1953 with the clue "Same: French." Its most recent appearance was on December 24, 2021, with the clue "Something that gets passed around a lot."

The French term "même" translates to "same," while the Greek word "mimoúmai" signifies "to imitate." In his book, Dawkins expressed the need for a term that encapsulates the notion of a cultural transmission unit or an imitative unit, which he referred to as the "new replicator." He aimed for a monosyllabic word resembling "gene." Dawkins also mentioned that it could be associated with "memory" or the French word "même."

According to Webster's New World College Dictionary, a meme is defined as "a concept, belief, or practice conceived as a unit of cultural information that can be transmitted from one individual to another, subject to influences in a manner comparable to natural selection."

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Shifting the meaning of memes

Similar to many words in the English language, the term "meme" has undergone a shift in meaning over time. In today's internet-dominated world, the creation and interpretation of memes involve the collaborative efforts of multiple users within a social context, explained Jennifer Nycz, an associate professor and director of undergraduate studies at Georgetown University's Department of Linguistics. She emphasized that this process is not fundamentally different from other forms of communication or knowledge creation. However, memes hold particular significance as individuals intentionally construct and share them with the world, inviting commentary and engagement.

According to popular meme creator Saint Hoax, who boasts three million Instagram followers, a meme can be defined as a form of media that is repurposed to convey cultural, social, or political expressions, often through humor. Saint Hoax believes that memes possess the remarkable ability to capture insightful perspectives that resonate with the spirit of the times (the zeitgeist).

Additionally, memes have the power to boost the popularity of various forms of entertainment. Samantha Sage, the co-founder and chief creative officer of Betches, a media company catering to millennial women, highlights that memes can now play a role in propelling the success of new TV shows or songs by serving as the foundation for viral trends.

Ingredients for a good meme

Significant pop culture events serve as fertile ground for the generation of memes. This year, Instagram made a groundbreaking move by hiring Saint Hoax as the first-ever meme correspondent to cover the Met Gala. The platform recognized that this event would yield captivating and culturally relevant content that would spread across social media. According to Saint Hoax, memes essentially function as editorial cartoons tailored for the digital age. The potency of a meme lies in its ability to be widely shared, transcending cultural boundaries. Memes possess a unique talent for capturing a particular moment while providing a diversion from reality. Lola Tash, one of the founders of the meme account My Therapist Says, explains that memes encapsulate the essence of the era we inhabit while also reminding us not to take everything too seriously.

Memes are inherently shareable. Samir Mezrahi, the deputy director of social media at BuzzFeed and the curator of the meme account Kale Salad, which boasts nearly four million followers, emphasizes that memes catch the attention of users who spend hours scrolling through news feeds. Most memes can be quickly read and understood within seconds.

The creation and sharing of memes foster a sense of online community while maintaining an element of exclusivity. Kit Chilvers, the chief executive and founder of Pubity Group, a collection of social media accounts with a combined following of over 80 million, asserts that memes bring people together through humor and often serve as a catalyst for social or political commentary. Moreover, memes can be somewhat exclusive, as their full meaning is comprehended only by those familiar with their origin.

The future of memes

Exploring every popular meme that has graced the internet would be a daunting task. However, there are several significant moments in meme culture that serve as a foundation for understanding this ever-evolving mode of communication. One such example is the trend of LOLcats, which involved humorous photos of cats overlaid with text. Many individuals I spoke to consider it as one of the original meme trends. Another widely recognized meme trend is Rickrolling, characterized by the unexpected inclusion of links to Rick Astley's 1987 hit song "Never Gonna Give You Up." The music video for this song has now amassed over 1.1 billion views on YouTube.

Meme culture is in a constant state of evolution, and predicting its future is uncertain. However, prominent meme creators on the internet have shared their thoughts on where it might be heading. Haley Sacks, the founder of the Instagram account @mrsdowjones, envisions memes evolving into NFTs (nonfungible tokens), with creators selling their best work as digital assets. She even expressed her willingness to purchase a meme NFT. Mr. Price from Memes.com predicts that within five years, or possibly even sooner, every cultural moment and news story will be accompanied by a corresponding meme, playing a significant role in the mainstream conversation surrounding those events. He remarked that memes on the internet have taken what naturally occurs in our communication and amplified it globally, simplifying the process.

In conclusion, as the saying goes, those who understand memes get it, while those who don't, well, they don't.