meme stocks
noun

- any publicly traded stock with a price performance that's strongly influenced by activity on social media

Britannica

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PHRASE ORIGIN

The etymology of "meme stocks" combines two distinct origins:

The word "meme" was coined by evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins in his 1976 book "The Selfish Gene." He created it from the Greek word "mimema" (meaning "imitated thing"), shortening it to rhyme with "gene." Dawkins used it to describe units of cultural transmission or imitation - ideas, behaviour a, or styles that spread from person to person within a culture.

By the 1990s and 2000s, "meme" had evolved to describe viral internet content - images, videos, phrases, or concepts that spread rapidly online through social sharing and imitation.

The term "meme stock" emerged in early 2021 and describes companies whose shares catch fire with individual investors on social media platforms such as Reddit and quickly skyrocket in price.

The connection to internet memes comes from how these stocks spread virally through social media platforms like Reddit, Twitter, TikTok, and YouTube.

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SYNONYMS


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