Copyright © Françoise Herrmann
‘Tis the WOTY season! WOTY (rhymes with potty) is an acronym for Word Of The Year.
The British Cambridge Dictionary, People’s Word of the Year 2018 is nomophobia. This means that according to the Cambridge Dictionary worldwide audience, nomophobia is the word that best sums up 2018.
Nomophobia, huh?
Nomophobia is “fear or worry at the idea of being without your mobile phone or unable to use it”. Nomophobia is a technically a blend, collapsing several words into a new one, in this case “No mobile phone phobia”. The earliest use of the term nomophobia is traced back to 2008. Because of its staying power, nomophobia was added the Cambridge Dictionary early in 2018. The term is popular rather than scientific. In other words, you may never find it listed in the American Psychiatric Association DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders).
The rest of the words in the short list of four WOTTIES, that the Cambridge Dictionary editors select, is always as interesting as the single word that topped them all by popular vote.
The short list of Cambridge Dictionary 2018 WOTTIES includes the following:
- gender gap - "a difference between the way men and women are treated in society, or between what men and women do and achieve"
- ecocide - "destruction of the natural environment of an area, or very great damage to it"
- no platforming - "the practice of refusing someone an opportunity to make their ideas or beliefs known publicly, because you think these beliefs are dangerous or unacceptable".
References
DSM-5 - American Psychiatric Association
The People’s Word Of The Year 2018
About words – Cambridge Dictionary Blog
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