Justice Is Merriam-Webster 2018 Word Of The Year
Justice is Merriam-Webster’s 2018 Word of the Year, whether used in a demand for racial or social justice or to refer to obstruction of justice, the dictionary publishing company announced Monday. “Justice” was looked up online 74 percent more often than it was in 2017 during tumultuous national news cycle.
“The concept of justice was at the center of many of our national debates in the past year: racial justice, social justice, criminal justice, economic justice,” Merriam-Webster said. “In any conversation about these topics, the question of just what exactly we mean when we use the term justice is relevant, and part of the discussion.”
The word wends through Robert Meuller’s investigation into President Donald Trump and touches the Justice Department, sometimes referred to simply as “Justice,” the company said in its announcement. It is used as a synonym or title for “judge,” used frequently during the Brett Kavanaugh U.S. Supreme Court confirmation hearings.
“Justice has varied meanings that do a lot of work in the language — meanings that range from the technical and legal to the lofty and philosophical,” the company said. “For many reasons and for many meanings, one thing’s for sure: justice has been on the minds of many people in 2018.”
Lookups for “nationalism” spiked 8,000 percent on Oct. 22-23 after Trump said at a rally in Texas that he’s a “nationalist” and there’s “nothing wrong” with that, Merriam-Webster said.
The full quote: “You know, they have a word — it’s sort of became old-fashioned — it’s called a ‘nationalist.’ And I say, really, we’re not supposed to use that word. You know what I am? I’m a nationalist, okay? I’m a nationalist. Nationalist. Nothing wrong. Use that word. Use that word.”
Nationalism literally means “loyalty and devotion to a nation,” especially “exalting one nation above all others and placing primary emphasis on promotion of its culture and interests as opposed to those of other nations or supranational groups.”
A nationalist is a person who advocates for nationalism, and “nationalism is often distinguished from patriotism, which means ‘love or devotion to one’s own country,’ but does not necessarily imply an attitude of superiority,” the company said.
Other contenders were:
Pansexual: This word saw a spike in lookups in April after singer Janelle Monáe was quoted in Rolling Stone magazine self-identifying with the term, which in today’s vernacular has come to mean “of, relating to, or characterized by sexual desire or attraction that is not limited to people of a particular gender identity or sexual orientation.” But as the English language in the early 20th century with a different use: “tending to suffuse all experience and conduct with erotic feeling.”
Lodestar: After anonymous The New York Times op-ed attributed to a senior White House official was published in early Septembers, lookups for Lodestar spiked, the company said. “We may no longer have Senator McCain. But we will always have his example — a lodestar for restoring honor to public life and our national dialogue,” the op-ed read. “Mr. Trump may fear such honorable men, but we should revere them.” Loadstar originally meant “a star that leads or guides (especially the North Star),” but is now commonly used to describe an inspiration, model or guide. It has notably been used by Vice President Mike Pence, but the true author of The Times piece remains unknown.
Epiphany: Lookups for this unremarkable word spiked in early January; its earliest use refers to the Christian festival held on Jan. 6 honoring the coming of the three kings to the infant Jesus Christ. In August, they spiked again in August when the word was featured in a forthcoming album by the group BTS, used in its more generic sense of a sudden, illuminating perception.
Feckless: Searches for this word, which means “ineffective” or “worthless,” spoked after Samantha Bee’s segment on the Trump administration’s immigration policy to separate children from their families at the U.S.-Mexico border. In a plea to Ivanka Trump, Bee asked the first daughter to “do something about your dad’s immigration policies,” and used an obscene word modified by feckless.
Laurel: In mid-May, searches for this word went up more than 3,300 percent because of an audio clip that some heard as “laurel” and others heard as “yanny.”
Pissant: This obscure vulgarity saw a 115,000 percent surge in lookups after New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady called a radio station out during an interview after a DJ on the station had several days earlier described Brady’s young daughter with the word.
Respect: The Aug. 16 death of Aretha Franklin brought a surge of searches for “respect,” the title of one of the Queen of Soul’s songs and an anthem for the both the civil rights and feminist movements.
Maverick: The August death of Arizona Sen. John McCain brought a surge of searches for the word often used to describe him: maverick, which means “an independent individual who does not go along with a group or party.”
Excelsior: The death of Stan Lee in November brought a spike in searches for “excelsior,” the Latin word for “higher” that is etymologically related to the words excel and excellent. Lee used it to conclude each of his monthly columns for Marvel Comics.
Merriam-Webster’s previous “Word of the Year” winners were “feminism” in 2017, “surreal” in 2016, “-ism” in 2015, “culture” in 2014, “science” in 2013, “socialism” in 2012, “pragmatic” in 2011, “austerity” in 2010, “admonish” in 2009 and “bailout” in 2008.
Photo: Mint Images/Shutterstock
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