English
spam
The original sense (canned ham) is a proprietary name registered by Geo.
first attested The earliest recorded real-life use for this sense occurs around 1993 which finds reference in a newsgroup post dated March 31, 1993, but the term may have been in use on "Multi-User Dungeons" (MUDs) in the 1980s (as stated in the etymology)
The story
The original sense (canned ham) is a proprietary name registered by Geo. It is presumed to be a conflation of either "spiced ham" or "shoulder of pork and ham" but was soon extended to other kinds of canned meat. Hormel spells the trademarked name in all upper case. The use for unsolicited and unwanted email derives from a Monty Python's Flying Circus sketch.
Today it means
noun Unsolicited bulk electronic messages.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / spam