Every year, at least 100 new words find their entry into the world of English but only a word is named by the lexicographers behind dictionary publishing organizations as the Word of the Year, after subjecting it to certain criteria.
This year too, the Word of the year from leading dictionaries such as Oxford, Merriam Webster, Cambridge and Collins were announced; and most of them had connections with Covid-19 in general.
Oxford University Press – Vax
Oxford Dictionaries are considered the gold standard for authentic definition of words. The Oxford University Press shared that they have announced “Vax as their Word of the Year.
“When our lexicographers began digging into our English language corpus data it quickly became apparent that vax was a particularly striking term. A relatively rare word in our corpus until this year, by September it was over 72 times more frequent than at the same time last year.”
Cambridge Dictionary – Perseverance
Cambridge Dictionary has announced ‘Perseverance’ as its Word of the Year 2021. The publishers said “It’s a word that perfectly captures the undaunted will of people across the world to never give up, despite the many challenges of 2021.”
Merriam Webster Dictionary – Vaccine
It is no doubt that Merriam Webster is one of the most loved dictionaries in the recent times. It announced ‘Vaccine’ as its word of the year.
The word vaccine is first recorded in English in 1799, while its derivatives vaccinate and vaccination both first appear in 1800. All of these words come ultimately from Latin ‘vacca’ for cow.
“The word ‘Vaccine’ was about much more than medicine in 2021. For many, the word symbolized a possible return to the lives we led before the pandemic. But it was also at the center of debates about personal choice, political affiliation, professional regulations, school safety, healthcare inequality, and so much more. Few words can express so much about one moment in time,” the publishers said
Collins Dictionary – NFT
‘NFT’ has become Collins Dictionary’s word of the year for 2021. In essence, an NFT (the abbreviation for ‘non-fungible token’) is a chunk of digital data which records who a piece of digital artwork or a collectible belongs to.
The use of the term, which has entered the mainstream lately, increased 11,000% in 2021. Collins describes NFT as “a unique digital certificate, registered in a blockchain that is used to record ownership of an asset such as an artwork or a collectible.” More simply put, “it’s a chunk of digital data that records who a piece of digital work belongs to”