Oxford Dictionaries Word of the Year 2017 – What Made It, What Didn’t

While we have our own Shashi Tharoor to explain arcane but existing words like ‘farrago’ and ‘rodomontade’ for us, the Oxford English dictionary also continues to tell us about new and interesting words. Each year new words are added to the dictionary, but one word is also declared the word of the year. We look at the Oxford Dictionaries Word of the Year 2017, words that have made it in the past and words that didn’t make it.

Oxford Dictionaries Word of the Year 2017

The word of the year is Youthquake – defined as a “significant cultural, political, or social change arising from the actions or influence of young people.”

Youthquake

Youthquake

The word dates back to 1965 when it was used to denote a cultural movement. This year, the word was resurrected because of the significant numbers of young people who were seen to have a political awakening of sorts and managed to bring about political change in Britain, New Zealand and Australia.

Antifa

Antifa

This word didn’t make it to the top word of the year, but was on the shortlist. Antifa refers to the antifascist movement and the use of direct action by groups to counter fascist regimes the world over.

Broflake

Broflake

This one didn’t make it either, but broflake has gained significant linguistic currency in recent times. Broflake is the derogatory term for the conservative male who is easily offended by progressive attitudes; mainly women with independent views. The word broflake is seen to become insulting and mocking, particularly in online situations that question male privilege.

Gorpcore

Gorpcore

This one didn’t make it either, but in the fashion world, ‘gorpcore’ was creating waves. It is a word that denotes outdoorsy clothing such as jackets, hiking boots, puffy jackets, windbreakers – for when people go ‘glamping’ (glamorous people going camping).

Kompromat

Kompromat

The word Kompromat – known in Russian politics as “compromising material” – gained popularity thanks to the allegations of the Trump campaign colluding with the Russians to rig American elections.

Milkshake duck

Milkshake duck

This term almost made it but didn’t in the end. A milkshake duck is the term used to describe a thing or a person who is seen as cute or popular for a while until it is revealed to have probably hidden undertones: racist, sexist, xenophobic etc. Example – remember Aunty ki Ghanty?

Newsjacking

Newsjacking

Newsjacking has become hugely popular as a marketing tool recently, given short attention spans of people and a new ‘breaking story’ every five minutes. Newsjacking is the process by which one's product or brand is injected into a new story or breaking news. This one is to gain publicity for one’s brand or business.

Unicorn

Unicorn

Unicorn is that mythical creature with the horn; the kind happy little children dream about, right? Well yes and no. In recent times, the unicorn is the startup billionaire – very rare to begin with; now more common, with the ability to transform financial norms.

White fragility

White fragility

This term too didn’t become word of the year 2017 but came close. It is used to denote a sense of perceived victimization by groups who are in fact privileged – such as Caucasians. White Fragility is defined as a state, where the least amount of racial stress triggers certain defensive or offensive responses, argument or silence.

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