Here’s a word that went viral. Dictionary publisher Merriam-Webster announced Monday that its annual Word of the Year is “pandemic” — which drew instant and far-reaching interest throughout 2020 thanks to the coronavirus.
The spike in lookups grew as much as 115,806% when compared to 2019, and averaged increases of about 4,000%.
“In this exceptional year the data was exceptionally clear: the story of the year is the word of the year,” the dictionary said.
Other words also stood out in the dictionary’s 2020 data, and they, too, shed light on the experiences and ideas that shaped the year.
“Pandemic is the word that has connected the worldwide medical emergency with the political response and with our personal experience of it all,” said Peter Sokolowski, editor-at-large for Merriam-Webster.
Other words that made the dictionary’s top-10 list of words include “defund” in second place. which sparked public interest following public calls to defund the police. “Mamba,” related to the late Kobe’s Bryant’s nickname “Black Mamba,” was in third place, followed by “kraken,” “quarantine,” “antebellum,” “schadenfreude,” “asymptomatic,” “irregardless,” “icon” and “malarkey.”
“Presidents can propel a word into the common vernacular — or at least the public eye. Ronald Reagan’s verbal tic of beginning responses with ’Well’ and George W. Bush’s malapropism misunderestimated qualify, and President-elect Joe Biden’s use of malarkey is on track to do the same,” the dictionary said.
• Jennifer Harper can be reached at jharper@washingtontimes.com.
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