The Rice University Neologisms Database

prospective student Sometimes the word is used endearingly, such as words like ‘cutie’ and ‘sonny.’ Other times, the word is used to tease the prospective student by pointing out their relative youth. The suffix ‘-ie’ sometimes has a juvenile connotation. It is very common at Rice University to make abbreviations for nearly everything. For instance, we have words such as mechie, musie, and archie to describe the majors mechanical engineering, music, and architecture, respectively. The common thread in these words is the noun suffix ‘-ie,’ meaning ‘one of such a quality.’ The word prospie was formed by a similar process.