Thread: Is there a word for "nerd" or "geek" in Russian?

I prefer ботАник, because it's less insulting of all abovementioned words. You may say it lovingly and tenderly I don't think it's obsolete, despite it was popular in USSR. It suggests academic/scholarly interests and corresponds to nerd. Reduced form ботАн (or бОтан) may also be used, but sounds less polite.
It's colloquial speech, so you need dictionary of Russian slang for such words

Originally Posted by xdns

I don't think it's obsolete, despite it was popular in USSR

Well, yes, I hastened to draw such conclusion. БотАник, of course, isn’t an obsolete word. But you can hear it mostly among the older generation. Nowadays young people commonly use contracted forms (бОтан, ботАн). And бОтан is much more likely to be heard instead of ботАн.