DALL·E – A simplified abstract design with block colours and minimal details, focusing on the number ‘2024’ and the word ‘WORD’
It’s that time of year. Dictionary publishers are telling us about the trends they have detected in 2024. In this article we focus on six English picks, and we will also add some Catalan and Spanish selections when they are announced.
The first selection I saw is from Cambridge, which has chosen “manifest”, used as a verb with a new meaning.
As they explain, to manifest is
to use methods such as visualization and affirmation to help you imagine achieving something you want, in the belief that doing so will make it more likely to happen
The Guardian attributes the popularity of this new meaning for an old word to its use by celebrities such as the singer Dua Lipa, who is quoted as saying, “Manifesting is a big thing for me. I stand very firmly in the belief of putting things into the world. Subconsciously, you just work towards them. Nothing’s ever too big.”
Interestingly, eligibility for word of the year varies between competitions. For instance, Cambridge states, “To be a candidate for the Word of the Year, a term has to actually be in the Cambridge Dictionary. Some words are added very quickly: for example, it took just 34 days to add Covid-19 to the dictionary.” In contrast, for El neologisme de l’any in Catalan, we read that L’Institut d’Estudis Catalans té el compromís d’analitzar les paraules guanyadores amb atenció especial per mirar d’incorporar-les en el diccionari normatiu (DIEC2). In other words, to win the competition the neologisme must NOT already be in the dictionary.
Here are some of the runners and riders for 2024!
Cambridge
- Word of the year: manifest
- Shortlist: brat, ecotarian, resilience
- Method of selection: Lookup frequency and expert lexicography
- Web: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/editorial/word-of-the-year
Collins
According to Collins, “Inspired by the Charli XCX album, ‘brat’ has become one of the most talked about words of 2024. More than a hugely successful album, ‘brat’ is a cultural phenomenon that has resonated with people globally, and ‘brat summer’ established itself as an aesthetic and a way of life.”
Brat – characterized by a confident, independent, and hedonistic attitude.
- Word of the year: brat
- Shortlist: era, anti-tourism, delulu, rawdogging, brainrot, yapping, supermajority, romantasy, looksmaxxing
- Method of selection: Unknown
- Web: https://www.collinsdictionary.com/woty
Dictionary[dot]com
- Word of the year: demure
- Shortlist: brainrot, brat, extreme weather, Midwesty nice, weird
- Method of selection: expert panel
- Web: https://www.dictionary.com/e/word-of-the-year-2024/
Why “demure”? According to Dictionary.com, ‘The word demure experienced a meteoric rise in usage in 2024. Between January and the end of August, this term saw a nearly 1200% increase in usage in digital web media alone. This sharp rise is mainly attributed to TikToker Jools Lebron’s popularization of the phrase “very demure, very mindful” in a series of videos posted to the platform in early August.’
MacQuarie
- Word of the year: enshittification
noun Colloquial the gradual deterioration of a service or product brought about by a reduction in the quality of service provided, especially of an online platform, and as a consequence of profit-seeking. - Shortlist: web page
- Method of selection: panel of experts and “people’s choice”. This year the winner in each vote coincided.
- Web: https://www.macquariedictionary.com.au/word-of-the-year/word-of-the-year-2024/
MacQuarie, an Australian dictionary, traditionally showcases the fun-loving originality and difference of Australian dialect. This year has been no different in that regard.
Merriam-Webster
- Word of the year: polarization
- Shortlist: totality, demure, fortnight, pander, resonate, allision, weird, cognitive, democracy
- Method of selection: prominent searches in the online dictionary
- Web: https://www.merriam-webster.com/wordplay/word-of-the-year
Oxford dictionaries
- Word of the year: brain rot
(n.) Supposed deterioration of a person’s mental or intellectual state, especially viewed as a result of overconsumption of material (now particularly online content) considered to be trivial or unchallenging.
- Shortlist: slop, romantasy, lore, brain rot, demure, dynamic pricing
- Method of selection: public vote and final supervision by a panel of experts
- Web: https://corp.oup.com/word-of-the-year/
Catalan word of the year 2024
The Observatori de Neologia of the Universitat Pompeu Fabra runs an annual vote for Neologisme de l’any.
- Neologisme de l’any: dana
- “dana” va rebre 21,4% dels vots.
- Les altres expressions preseleccionades:
cancel·lar | dana | fentanil | hora tranquil·la | minisèrie | no-binari -ària | nom sentit | presentisme | transició energètica | transitar - Web: https://www.upf.edu/web/neologismedelany
Spanish word of the year 2024
FundéuRAE makes its own selection each year. Watch this space!
