otaku

[ oh-tah-koo ]

noun

, Japanese.

, plural o·ta·ku, o·ta·kus.

1. a person with an intense enthusiasm for some subject such as computers, video games, or anime and manga, especially one who finds social interaction difficult (often used attributively):

   She's quite the military otaku and knows a lot about war history.

   The documentary delves into otaku culture.

Word History and Origins

Origin of otaku¹

First recorded in 1990–95; from Japanese: “enthusiast, geek, nerd, obsessive fan,” special use of the 2nd person pronoun, literally, “your home,” from o-, 2nd person honorific prefix ( omakase ( def ) ) + taku “home” (from Middle Chinese; compare Mandarin zhái, Cantonese zaak )