A lot of words don't have very nice orgins, but we use them regularly with high regard. "Geek" used to meen "Someone who bites the heads off chickens". Later it was used as an insult to high-acheivers on school grounds. Later still, those same high-acheivers took the word as a badge of pride.

As was stated in one of the parent nodes, "Hacker" is a broad term that isn't neccessarily specific to computers. "Programmer" is specific to computers, and it can be applied to anyone who spews out code for a living (including the VB monkey who just learned how to right-click). "Hacker" always refers to people who strive to learn. "Hacker" might include that VB coder (if that coder has the right mind set), but usually wouldn't.