The Rice University Neologisms Database

A Rice graduate or undergraduate student who runs a lab. Labbie is yet slang word another used by Rice students. Like most slang used at Rice, labbie is used both as an easier way to say a long word and as a shibboleth. Labbie was most likely derived by clipping the phrase “laboratory assistant” down to lab- then adding the diminutive suffix –ie. Adding the suffix –ie is a common way of forming words among young people.