What does dodoism mean?
Dodoism is a rare, informal noun describing stubborn adherence to ideas, habits, or attitudes that are hopelessly out of date — a mindset as extinct-in-spirit as the dodo bird itself. The word derives from 'dodo', the flightless bird of Mauritius that vanished in the seventeenth century and has since served as a universal symbol of obsolescence, combined with the suffix '-ism', which denotes a practice or doctrine. Because it is not established in most standard dictionaries, it functions chiefly as a coinage in informal commentary, satire, and rhetoric, where speakers want a vivid, mildly humorous label for institutional or personal refusal to modernize. Its tone is dismissive rather than neutral, so it suits opinion writing more than formal analysis.
nounDefinition pending review.
- Adherence to or persistence in ideas, practices, or attitudes that are hopelessly out of date; resistance to modernization.
"Critics dismissed the policy as mere dodoism, an idea that should have gone extinct long ago."
"The company's insistence on fax machines was pure dodoism in a digital age."
"He warned that clinging to dodoism would doom the institution to irrelevance."
As a mass noun it usually takes no plural; the plural is possible when counting distinct instances of outmoded thinking.
"The essay catalogued the dodoisms still haunting the industry."
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of dodoism
Dodoism combines 'dodo' with the English suffix '-ism'. The word 'dodo' entered English in the early seventeenth century from Portuguese 'doudo' (or Dutch 'dodaars'), referring to the flightless bird of Mauritius driven to extinction within decades of European contact. By extension, 'dodo' came to mean anything obsolete or out-of-touch, and '-ism' formations like 'dodoism' arose to name such obsolete thinking. No precise first-attested date for 'dodoism' can be stated with confidence, and it remains a marginal formation rather than a fully lexicalized dictionary entry.
How dodoism is actually used
This is a rare, informal word, formed from 'dodo' (the extinct bird long used as a symbol of obsolescence) plus the suffix '-ism'. It is not found in most standard dictionaries and is best reserved for informal or rhetorical contexts where its playful connotation is clear.
Easily confused with dodoism
A dodo is the extinct flightless bird of Mauritius (or figuratively, an out-of-date person), whereas dodoism refers to adherence to such outmoded ideas or ways of thinking.