Morb

About

Morb is a catchphrase and slang term that's mostly used in a nonsensical fashion, but also means to destroy, dominate or win as the character Morbius is portrayed by memers from the 2022 film Morbius starring actor Jared Leto. Originating on the official Morbius Discord server around February 2022, morb is associated among the movie's ironic and memetic fandom in that community where users are known as Morbheads. Morb is also used in conjunction with other Morbius memes, such as Morbius Sweep, Morbius Poster Mashups and It's Morbin Time.

Origin

The verb “morb” (and its various conjugations of “morbed” and “morbing”) originated on the Morbius Discord server, which was set up to promote the film’s release in the United States ahead of its debut on March 10th, 2022 (limited release), and April 1st, 2022 (nationwide release).^[1]

The earliest recorded instance of morb online was made in reference to “morb heads,” the self-proclaimed demonym of fans of the Morbius film. Posts from February 12th, 2022, on the Discord server set up to promote the film feature the term's earliest known usage.^[2] For example, on the Discord, “morb” was first used on February 12th as a noun (seen below).

On February 24th, the term “morbing” was then first used as a verb on the server by a user, adding to its various uses (shown below).

Lastly, “morbhead,” as a demonym, was first used on February 23rd on the Discord server (seen below).

Spread

The earliest known reference on the public internet was March 2nd, 2022, in a tweet from Twitter^[3] user @photonjenerator in which the self-described “morb head” celebrated the hijinks on the Discord server and its rapid growth. The tweet received just five likes and one retweet in roughly three months.

More morb tweets followed in the ensuing weeks, with the phrase catching on rapidly as it spread online. Some used morb in place of the similar-sounding word “more,” though using the phrase as a verb was more common. For example, Twitter^[4] user @fancypetetoms tweeted about "morb" on March 28th, 2022, earning 19 likes in two months.

The catchphrase It's Morbin Time, falsely attributed as real dialogue to the character in the film, gained notable traction on social media in May 2022, which helped spread morb as it was often used in conjunction with Morbius memes.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References