MERRIAM-WEBSTER’S 2021 WORD OF THE YEAR IS ‘VACCINE.’ THE RUNNER-UP IS ‘INSURRECTION’

Tue 30 November 2021:

The word ‘vaccine’ has beaten out ‘insurgency’ as Merriam-word Webster’s of the year for 2021.

Compared to 2019, when there was little urgency or chatter about vaccines, Merriam-Webster logged an increase of 1,048% in lookups this year. Debates over inequitable distribution, vaccine mandates and boosters kept interest high, Sokolowski said. So did vaccine hesitancy and friction over vaccine passports.

According to its editor, Peter Sokolowski, It really represents two different stories. One is the science story, which is this remarkable speed with which the vaccines were developed. But there’s also the debates regarding policy, politics and political affiliation. It’s one word that carries these two huge stories.”

“The pandemic was the gun going off and now we have the aftereffects,” Sokolowski said.

Infrastructure, perseverance, and nomad were the other words that came in second place in the word biography of 2021.

INSURRECTION: Interest was driven by the deadly Jan. 6 siege on the U.S. Capitol. Arrests continue, as do congressional hearings over the attack by supporters of President Donald Trump. Some of Trump’s allies have resisted subpoenas, including Steve Bannon.

Searches for the word increased by 61,000% over 2020, Sokolowksi said.

After weeding out evergreens, Merriam-Webster bases its selection on lookup data, paying close attention to spikes and, more recently, year-over-year increases in searches.

Other dictionary companies, on the other hand, choose words of the year by committee.

The word “vaccine” was first used in 1882, and it was derived from the New Latin “vaccina,” which is derived from Latin’s feminine “vaccinus,” which means “of or from a cow.”

It comes after the Oxford English Dictionary named “vax” as the word of the year, and Collins Dictionary named “NFT” as the word of the year.

Since 2008, Merriam-Webster has named a word of the year.

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