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A Word for Wednesday: Mac

Come rain or come shine, you need a Mac. This week’s word for Wednesday is an interesting example of both strong brand identities and of diachronic language change. Mac. To most people over the age of 60, Mac refers to a type of rubberized waterproof raincoat first sold in 1824. The coat is named after its fabric invented by the Scotsman Charles Mackintosh. Mac is also used as slang for a Scottish person, such that irrespective of their first and second names, outside Scotland, a Scotsman might be nicknamed Mac. In contemporary use, the word Mac refers to the Apple Macintosh computer. This usage has superseded both of the uses above, even in the rainy Scottish climate wh...

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