Wikipedia:Coinage may be cited directly
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By the nature of wikipedia, articles are centered around a word, every word first appeared in text somewhere, that first use may be cited directly. It is not necessary to cite a secondary source that speaks about first usage, just cite the first usage, for example:
Write:
" The phrase "RNA World" was first used by Nobel laureate Walter Gilbert in 1986, in a commentary on how recent observations of the catalytic properties of various forms of RNA fit with this hypothesis.[1]"
- ^ Gilbert, Walter (February 1986). "The RNA World". Nature. 319 (6055): 618. Bibcode:1986Natur.319..618G. doi:10.1038/319618a0. S2CID 8026658.
And not
" According to an ephemerides article by a digital newspaper, the phrase RNA world was first used by Nobel Laureate Water Gilbert in 1986. [1]"
- ^ The Westphalia Times 2016, no author (DEAD LINK) https://westphaliatimes.com/articles/2016-06-11/30year-anniversary-of-this-revolutionary-theory?ads=yes&track=yes&paywall=yes
Cut the middleman.
If an earlier usage of the word arises, it will be replaced, and so the Wikipedia project will naturally find the origin of a word.