Patents on the soles of your shoes...: Terminology - WOTTIES 2022

Tuesday, December 13, 2022

Terminology - WOTTIES 2022 - The Merriam-Webster shortlist (2)

Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

If gaslighting is the uncontested Merriam-Webster Word of the Year 2022, the list of competing Merriam-Webster 2022 WOTY candidates is no less interesting. The following words, together with their definitions, were shortlisted.

oligarch: Merriam-Webster notes that, even if the term oligarch has Greek roots, the use in question refers specifically to Russia, as in “one of a class of individuals who through private acquisition of state assets amassed great wealth that is stored especially in foreign accounts and properties and who typically maintain close links to the highest government circles.” In this sense, searches for the term spiked 521% in early March 2022, when the US and other countries placed sanctions on Russian oligarchs and their families, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Omicron: To avoid the geographical stigma of origin, the World Health Organization (WHO) decided to use Greek letters to name the various significant mutations of the COVID 19 virus. In November 2021, the fifteenth letter of the Greek Alphabet “Omicron” was designated to name the most recent significant mutation of the virus, causing spikes in searches at the Merriam-Webster dictionary online, every time the news was flooded with Omicron-related headlines.

endemic: Merriam-Webster defines endemic as: “a term used to describe a disease that is constantly present in a particular place". Consequently, the term endemic spiked 874% in January 2022”, in connection with the term Omicron.

codify: Searches for the term codify are reported to have spiked 193% in 2022, due to the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, on June 24, 2022. Code means "law" in this particular case, referring directly to President Biden's suggestion that he would push for Congress to codify abortion rights, during the next Congressional session in 2023.

LGBTQIA: An old abbreviation expanded for inclusiveness. The abbreviation stands for: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning (one’s sexual or gender identity), Intersex and Asexual/Aromantic/Agender”. The term spiked in 2022, during the whole month of June, corresponding to the month-long celebration of Gay Pride. The term spiked again in the aftermath of a deadly shooting, at a gay nightclub, in Colorado Springs.

sentient: This term spiked 180% in the aftermath of an incident involving a Google engineer, who claimed that the company’s AI Chatbox had developed humanlike consciousness. A claim that the company vigorously denied, placing the employee on paid leave.

loamy: This term refers to “a soil consisting of a friable mixture of varying proportions of clay, silt, and sand”. Searches for the term loamy are reported to have surged, when it was selected Quordle, a much harder version of the popular New York Times online game Wordle, on August 29th.

raid: The term “raid” surged 970% in August 2022, after the FBI executed a search warrant at former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago, Palm Beach residence. The event also prompted spikes in related searches for the term banana republic, referring to "a small and despotically run country".

Queen Consort: The title “Queen Consort” is reserved for the spouse of a reigning monarch. Following accession to the throne of the British King Charles III, on September 8, 2022, the title Queen Consort was bestowed upon Camilla, his wife.