Zelig
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English
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From the surname of the character Leonard Zelig from the 1983 film Zelig who meets many famous people in the 1920s and 1930s and, apparently out of his desire to fit in and be liked, unwittingly takes on the characteristics of the strong personalities around him.[1]
Pronunciation
[edit]- (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA(key): /ˈzɛlɪɡ/
- Hyphenation: Ze‧lig
Noun
[edit]Zelig (plural Zeligs)
- An ordinary person who can change their appearance or behaviour to suit their surroundings, especially one who is unexpectedly associated with important events or people. [from 1980s]
- Synonym: chameleon
- An unimportant person who appears at multiple important events.
Derived terms
[edit]Translations
[edit]ordinary person who can change their appearance or behaviour to suit their surroundings — see chameleon
unimportant person who appears at multiple important events
References
[edit]- ^ “Zelig, n.”, in OED Online
, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, July 2023; “Zelig, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
