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Original · left

Easter egg

A decorated egg exchanged or hunted for at Easter.

First in use: ancient / pre-modern
Duplicate · right

Easter egg (hidden feature)

A secret message, joke or feature hidden in a video game, film or piece of software.

First in use: c. 1980

Easter egg / Easter egg / Easter egg (hidden feature)

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Canonical todayMeasuring…
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Duplicate share · 12 mo—
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Colour keyGrey · original meaningGreen · duplicate meaningAmber · contested (40–60%)How colours work

Atari's Adventure hid the first famous one.

Which meaning of Easter egg is the original, and which one is the duplicate riding on its name? Easter egg came first (ancient / pre-modern). Easter egg (hidden feature) arrived in 1980. The data below shows which one owns the word now.

Wikipedia pageviews since 2015

Easter eggEaster egg (hidden feature)
English Wikipedia pageviews since July 2015 load here.

Duplicate's share of attention

Green line = duplicate's % · above 60 it owns the word · below 40 the original does

Share-of-attention line loads here.

The case for each meaning

Sourced definitions, usage stats and quotes

Original · ancient / pre-modern

Easter egg

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Duplicate · c. 1980

Easter egg (hidden feature)

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