Etymology
The activity of fans creating relationships out of some or most of the cast of characters far predates the term. Though the word "ship" evolved from "relationship", where and when it was first used to indicate involvement with fictional romance is unclear. It is speculated, however, that the first "shipping" started with the TV show The X-Files, in which internet fans thought the two main characters, Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, should be or were engaged in a romantic relationship. The term was then used again by fans of Pokémon, who thought Team Rocket members Jessie and James should be together.
The term for a fan of shipping also evolved: from relationshipper, R'shipper, 'shipper, and finally just shipper. These terms were already established and required no explanation when posted in alt.tv newsgroups in 1996.
Read more about this topic: Shipping (fandom)
Famous quotes containing the word etymology:
“Semantically, taste is rich and confusing, its etymology as odd and interesting as that of “style.” But while style—deriving from the stylus or pointed rod which Roman scribes used to make marks on wax tablets—suggests activity, taste is more passive.... Etymologically, the word we use derives from the Old French, meaning touch or feel, a sense that is preserved in the current Italian word for a keyboard, tastiera.”
—Stephen Bayley, British historian, art critic. “Taste: The Story of an Idea,” Taste: The Secret Meaning of Things, Random House (1991)
“The universal principle of etymology in all languages: words are carried over from bodies and from the properties of bodies to express the things of the mind and spirit. The order of ideas must follow the order of things.”
—Giambattista Vico (1688–1744)