Dictionaries Choose 'Pandemic' as 2020 Word of the Year
2020-12-01
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1Two major dictionary publishers have chosen pandemic as the 2020 word of the year.
2Merriam-Webster and Dictionary.com both declared their choices on Monday.
3Merriam-Webster said its decision was based on the "extremely high numbers" of people who had looked up pandemic in its online dictionary in 2020.
4The word showed a major year-over-year increase in internet traffic, the company said.
5The World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic on March 11.
6The Merriam-Webster Learners' Dictionary defines pandemic as an occurrence in which a disease spreads very quickly and affects a large number of people over a wide area or throughout the world.
7Searches for pandemic on the Merriam-Webster website rose more than 115,000 percent on March 11 compared to a year earlier.
8The dictionary's choice of pandemic should not come as a shock to anyone, said Peter Sokolowski, editor at large for Merriam-Webster.
9Sokolowski told The Associated Press that major news events often have a technical word related to them.
10In the case of the coronavirus crisis, "the word pandemic is not just technical but has become general."
11He added that pandemic is also a word that will likely be used in the future to describe this period in history.
12Sokolowski noted that pandemic has roots in Latin and Greek.
13It is a combination of "pan," meaning for all, and "demos," for people or population.
14Pandemic dates to the mid-1600s, when it was used widely for "universal."
15Around that time, it also began appearing in medical literature after the plagues of the Middle Ages, he said.
16Sokolowski said the huge increase in interest did not appear to be only among searchers who did not know the meaning of the word.
17Many people were also hunting for more details about pandemic or were seeking for inspiration or to help ease their minds, he added.
18Merriam-Webster said it acted quickly to add new information on words related to pandemic.
19The dictionary already had "coronavirus" for many years.
20But it added "COVID-19" - the disease caused by the coronavirus -
21about a month after that term was officially created in February.
22In announcing its choice, Dictionary.com said searches for pandemic on its website increased more than 13,000 percent on March 11.
23Dictionary.com research editor John Kelly told the AP that searches for the word have remained high throughout the year.
24For about half of the year, the company said pandemic was in the top 10 percent of all search requests.
25"The pandemic as an event created a new language for a new normal," Kelly said.
26As we recently reported, other dictionaries also chose COVID-19-related terms as their 2020 word of the year.
27Britain's Cambridge Dictionary chose "quarantine."
28It said searches for the word increased in March, when many countries ordered public restrictions to limit the spread of COVID-19.
29Cambridge said quarantine had taken on new meaning so it added to its definition.
30It now says quarantine is "a general period of time in which people are not allowed to leave their homes or travel freely, so that they do not catch or spread a disease."
31Collins Dictionary, another British publisher, chose "lockdown."
32It said the word represents a uniting experience for people across the world.
33Under lockdown in 2020, Collins said "normal public life is suspended" and "we see few people, and fewer places."
34It added that lockdown is now seen as "a public health measure."
35I'm Bryan Lynn.
1Two major dictionary publishers have chosen pandemic as the 2020 word of the year. 2Merriam-Webster and Dictionary.com both declared their choices on Monday. 3Merriam-Webster said its decision was based on the "extremely high numbers" of people who had looked up pandemic in its online dictionary in 2020. The word showed a major year-over-year increase in internet traffic, the company said. 4The World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic on March 11. The Merriam-Webster Learners' Dictionary defines pandemic as an occurrence in which a disease spreads very quickly and affects a large number of people over a wide area or throughout the world. 5Searches for pandemic on the Merriam-Webster website rose more than 115,000 percent on March 11 compared to a year earlier. The dictionary's choice of pandemic should not come as a shock to anyone, said Peter Sokolowski, editor at large for Merriam-Webster. 6Sokolowski told The Associated Press that major news events often have a technical word related to them. In the case of the coronavirus crisis, "the word pandemic is not just technical but has become general." He added that pandemic is also a word that will likely be used in the future to describe this period in history. 7Sokolowski noted that pandemic has roots in Latin and Greek. It is a combination of "pan," meaning for all, and "demos," for people or population. Pandemic dates to the mid-1600s, when it was used widely for "universal." Around that time, it also began appearing in medical literature after the plagues of the Middle Ages, he said. 8Sokolowski said the huge increase in interest did not appear to be only among searchers who did not know the meaning of the word. Many people were also hunting for more details about pandemic or were seeking for inspiration or to help ease their minds, he added. 9Merriam-Webster said it acted quickly to add new information on words related to pandemic. The dictionary already had "coronavirus" for many years. But it added "COVID-19" - the disease caused by the coronavirus - about a month after that term was officially created in February. 10In announcing its choice, Dictionary.com said searches for pandemic on its website increased more than 13,000 percent on March 11. 11Dictionary.com research editor John Kelly told the AP that searches for the word have remained high throughout the year. For about half of the year, the company said pandemic was in the top 10 percent of all search requests. 12"The pandemic as an event created a new language for a new normal," Kelly said. 13As we recently reported, other dictionaries also chose COVID-19-related terms as their 2020 word of the year. 14Britain's Cambridge Dictionary chose "quarantine." It said searches for the word increased in March, when many countries ordered public restrictions to limit the spread of COVID-19. 15Cambridge said quarantine had taken on new meaning so it added to its definition. It now says quarantine is "a general period of time in which people are not allowed to leave their homes or travel freely, so that they do not catch or spread a disease." 16Collins Dictionary, another British publisher, chose "lockdown." It said the word represents a uniting experience for people across the world. Under lockdown in 2020, Collins said "normal public life is suspended" and "we see few people, and fewer places." It added that lockdown is now seen as "a public health measure." 17I'm Bryan Lynn. 18The Associated Press reported this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the report for VOA Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor. 19We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section, and visit our Facebook page. 20_______________________________________________________________ 21Words in This Story 22occurrence - n. something that happens 23plague - n. a serious disease that spreads quickly and kills a lot of people 24inspiration - n. someone or something that gives you ideas for doing something 25allow - v. to permit