According to Merriam-Webster, the first-known use of 'snail mail' occurred in 1982

 

Print headline:  New York Times, 10/30/2025

Max Berlinger reports:

“I’m a big fan of tactile, old school ways of communicating,” said Olivia Kim, the senior vice president of creative for Nordstrom. 

So this year, in addition to the retailer’s commercials on Netflix and Hulu, and their “Gift Expert in Training,” which is an A.I.-enabled advice tool, Ms. Kim and her team will rely on a hallmark of the past. In what has become an increasingly scarce practice among retailers, Nordstrom will use snail mail to send out a 100-page print catalog — the kind of glossy brochure that used to land in mailboxes each holiday season.

Other coinages from the same year include:

1. domain name
2. escape key
3. hard drive
4. help screen
5. multitasker
6. netiquette
7. pixelated
8. text messaging

First-known use

Other vocabulary posts:

2025

Boobird.  (10/12)

Ultra-processed.  (10/12)

Tacky.  (10/9)

Chikungunya.  (8/6)

Mankeeping.  (8/5)

Hypergamy.  (7/31)

Situationship.  (7/30)

Lollygag.  (5/22)

Bummer.  (5/20)

TV dinner.  (2/3)

March-December 2024

Deepfake.  (9/1)

Life coach.  (6/30)

Face-plant.  (6/8)

Veggie.  (4/26)  

Dox/doxxing  (4/11)

Edgelord.  (3/23)

Dad joke. 3/4)

February 2024

Edutainment.  (2/16)

Cut, as an adjective.  (2/13).  .

Flunky.  (2/5)

Janky.  (2/2)

Kiddo.  (2/2)

January 2024

Bonkers.  (1/31)

Heebie-jeebies.  (1/31)

Nudification.  (1/31)

Right-size.  (1/14)

2022

Dumpster fire.  (10/20/2022)

2018

Swinge.  (12/18/2018)

2017

Michael Flynn vocabulary lesson.  (2/14/2017)

2013

Yaw.  (2/28/2013)