-zilla

-zilla is an English slang suffix, a back-formation derived from the English name of the Japanese movie monster Godzilla.[1][2] It is popular for the names of software and websites. It is also found often in popular culture to imply some form of excess, denoting the monster-like qualities of Godzilla.

For other uses, see Zilla.

This trend has been observed since the popularization of the Mozilla Project, which itself included the Internet Relay Chat client ChatZilla.[3]

The use of the suffix was contested by Toho, owners of the trademark Godzilla, in a lawsuit against the website Davezilla[4] and also against Sears for their mark Bagzilla.[5] Toho has since trademarked the word "Zilla" and retroactively used it as an official name for the "Godzilla In Name Only" creature from the 1998 Roland Emmerich film.[6]

List of items ending in -zilla

Some uses of the suffix -zilla include:

Businesses and products

Entertainment

Miscellaneous
  • axizilla, a heavy form of axion in an extension of the Standard Model.
  • bitchzilla, a severely disagreeable or aggressive woman.
  • couplezilla, a couple who, in the course of planning their wedding, display difficult, selfish, narcissistic behavior relating to the event.
  • cuntzilla, a term of abuse for a severely disagreeable or aggressive woman.
  • Fedzilla, the federal government regarded as a rapacious monster with an appetite for political power, money, etc.
  • groomzilla, a demanding and perfectionist groom (man who is to be married).
  • Hogzilla, a large male wild hog hybrid that was stabbed and killed in 2004 in Georgia, United States.
  • momzilla, a controlling or over-involved mother.
  • Pigzilla, another large feral pig or possible hoax shot in 2007 in Alabama, United States.
  • promzilla, a teenage girl who is obsessed with preparing for her prom and ensuring it turns out the way she envisions.
  • weddingzilla, a person overly concerned with ensuring that a wedding goes exactly as they envision it.
  • wimpzilla, a theoretical superheavy dark matter particle, trillions of times more massive than other proposed types of dark matter.

For derived words

References
  1. Chrysti M. Smith (2006). Verbivore's Feast: Second Course: More Word & Phrase Origins. ISBN 9781560374022.
  2. William Tsutsui. "Godzilla and Postwar Japan Lunch Keynote". Address 2004 National Meeting Asian Studies.
  3. "IRC in Mozilla, aka ChatZilla". mozilla.org. Mozilla Organization. May 18, 2000. Archived from the original on August 15, 2000. Retrieved 2010-10-11.
  4. "Godzilla vs. the blog thing". CNET.com.
  5. Philip Summa. "New Test for Trademark Dilution - Why North Carolina Should Adopt Section 12 of the Model State Trademark". Campbell L. Rev. 5.
  6. "ZILLA - Trademark Details". Justia Trademarks. Retrieved May 8, 2013.
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