English
greenovator
Greenovator comes from German; the German form is not named.
- Germanc. 1650–presentform not named
- Englishearliest quotation 2015greenovator
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Germanc. 1650–presentform not named
- Englishearliest quotation 2015greenovator
Earliest quotation: 2015, Myria Allen, Changing Paradigms, Shifting Societal Discourses, and Organi: “Peter Nierengarten, Director of Sustainability and Resilience for Fayetteville,…”
Proto-Indo-European *gʰreh₁- ‘to grow’
…
Proto-Germanic *grōniz
Proto-West Germanic *grōnī
Old English grēne
Middle English grene
English green
Proto-Indo-European *nu ‘now’
…
Proto-Italic *nowāō
Latin novō ‘to make new, renew, refresh’
Late Latin innovō ‘to renew, restore’
Late Latin innovātor
English innovator
The story
First introduced in a German-language 2009 study on customer segments of automobiles by management consulting firm Arthur D. Little Zukunft der Mobilität 2020 – Die Automobilindustrie im Umbruch?, though it seemingly circulated under the radar with American city engineers.
Today it means
noun A consumer focusing on environmental and sustainability concerns rather than prestige offered by the opportunity of owning a luxury item.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / greenovator