Dork is a term of abuse favored by American youngsters, designating the target as quirky, awkward, eccentric, socially inept or simply of lower status. Similar epithets include nerd and geek and the Australian colloquialism of dag which has the added feature of being seen as affable or amusing.
"Dork" is a common slang personal name for the Poser 3 & 4 posable man CGI figure.
It is popularly asserted that the term originated as whalers' occupational slang for the penis of a whale, and by transfer became an anatomical insult, undergoing subsequent generalization and amelioration to its present meaning. The current state of evidence suggests that this is a case of folk etymology, as no solid documentation has been advanced for the use of the term in this context. One of the earliest documented uses of the word "dork" is a 1961 publication (referencing 1953), in which the meaning is clearly penis, but with no particular reference to whales. Instead, the term may be merely a minced oath variant of "dick", a vulgar term for a human penis.
Also known as a surname. Ellis Island records indicate people registering as early as 1907 with Dork as their last name.