-oid \-oid\ (-oid) suff. [Gr. ?, fr. e'i^dos form, akin to ? to
   see, and E. wit: cf. F. -o["i]de, L. -o["i]des.]
   A suffix or combining form meaning like, resembling, in the
   form of; as in anthropoid, asteroid, spheroid.
   [1913 Webster]

OID
       Object IDentifier (OSI)
       

-oid
 suff.

    [from Greek suffix -oid = in the image of]

    1. Used as in mainstream slang English to indicate a poor imitation, a
    counterfeit, or some otherwise slightly bogus resemblance. Hackers will
    happily use it with all sorts of non-Greco/Latin stem words that wouldn't
    keep company with it in mainstream English. For example, ?He's a nerdoid?
    means that he superficially resembles a nerd but can't make the grade; a
    modemoid might be a 300-baud box (Real Modems run at 28.8 or up); a
    computeroid might be any bitty box. The word keyboid could be used to
    describe a chiclet keyboard, but would have to be written; spoken, it
    would confuse the listener as to the speaker's city of origin.

    2. More specifically, an indicator for ?resembling an android? which in the
    past has been confined to science-fiction fans and hackers. It too has
    recently (in 1991) started to go mainstream (most notably in the term
    ?trendoid? for victims of terminal hipness). This is probably traceable to
    the popularization of the term droid in Star Wars and its sequels. (See
    also windoid.)

    Coinages in both forms have been common in science fiction for at least
    fifty years, and hackers (who are often SF fans) have probably been making
    ?-oid? jargon for almost that long [though GLS and I can personally confirm
    only that they were already common in the mid-1970s ?ESR].

-oid

    (from "android") A suffix used as in mainstream
   English to indicate a poor imitation, a counterfeit, or some
   otherwise slightly bogus resemblance.  Hackers will happily
   use it with all sorts of non-Greco/Latin stem words that
   wouldn't keep company with it in mainstream English.  For
   example, "He's a nerdoid" means that he superficially
   resembles a nerd but can't make the grade; a "modemoid"
   might be a 300-baud modem (Real Modems run at 144000 or
   up); a "computeroid" might be any bitty box.

   "-oid" can also mean "resembling an android", which was once
   confined to science-fiction fans and hackers.  It too has
   recently (in 1991) started to go mainstream (most notably in
   the term "trendoid" for victims of terminal hipness).  This is
   probably traceable to the popularisation of the term droid
   in "Star Wars" and its sequels.

   Coinages in both forms have been common in science fiction for
   at least fifty years, and hackers (who are often SF fans) have
   probably been making "-oid" jargon for almost that long
   (though GLS and ESR can personally confirm only that they
   were already common in the mid-1970s).

   [Jargon File]

   (1999-07-10)