For what it’s worth, every year Merriam-Webster chooses a word of the year. This year’s word is…
Bailout
A reflection of our society perhaps? From Breitbart/Canadian Press.
Everyone seems to want one but apparently a lot of Americans aren’t sure what exactly a “bailout” is.
The word, which shot to prominence amid the financial meltdown, was looked up so often at Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary site the publisher says “bailout” was an easy choice for its 2008 Word of the Year.
The rest of the list is not exactly cheerful. It includes “trepidation,” “precipice” and “turmoil.”
“There’s something about the national psyche right now that is looking up words that seem to suggest fear and anxiety,” said John Morse, Merriam-Webster’s president and publisher.
Shot to prominence; a star is born, I guess. And, the seemingly endless campaign season also made an impression on the “national psyche”.
Several well-worn terms from the presidential campaign also made the cut: “maverick,” “bipartisan” and, coming in at No. 2, “vet” – to appraise and evaluate, as in vetting a vice-presidential pick…
… And “misogyny,” defined as hatred of women, was looked up in huge numbers on the online dictionary, as Hillary Clinton’s supporters questioned whether it had derailed her presidential hopes.
So, the news has an influence over our language it seems. Possibly more people finding their news online means more people looking up words in the news.
Past words of the year, starting with last year are…
W00t
Truthiness
Integrity
Blog
Democracy
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