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Origin of Spam
Related formsspam·mer, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for spam
British Dictionary definitions for spam (1 of 2)
spam
/ (spæm) computing slang /
verb spams, spamming or spammed
to send unsolicited electronic mail or text messages simultaneously to a number of e-mail addresses or mobile phones
noun
unsolicited electronic mail or text messages sent in this way
Derived Formsspammer, noun
Word Origin for spam
C20: from the repeated use of the word Spam in a popular sketch from the British television show Monty Python's Flying Circus, first broadcast in 1969
British Dictionary definitions for spam (2 of 2)
Spam
/ (spæm) /
noun
trademark a kind of tinned luncheon meat, made largely from pork
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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Word Origin and History for spam
spam
proprietary name registered by Geo. A. Hormel & Co. in U.S., 1937; probably a conflation of spiced ham. Soon extended to other kinds of canned meat. In the sense of "Internet junk mail" it was coined by Usenet users after March 31, 1993, when Usenet administrator Richard Depew inadvertently posted the same message 200 times to a discussion group. The term had been used in online text games, and it was from the comedy routine in British TV show "Monty Python's Flying Circus" (beloved by many intellectual geeks) where a restaurant's menu items all devolve into spam.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Culture definitions for spam
Note
The name comes from a Monty Python comedy skit about a restaurant that served only Spam.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.