# C86

> English word · Noun

## Definitions
1. A genre of British rock music most prominent in the late eighties and early nineties, with a lo-fi aesthetic, unconventional instrumentation and romantic lyrics.

## Etymology
Named after C86, a compilation cassette released in 1986 by NME magazine on which independent rock featured heavily. The album title itself was a play on the labelling and length of blank compact cassettes—commonly C60, C90 and C120—combined with the year 1986.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/c86