The words that have starred in 2018 - The Province

The most popular dictionaries, (Oxford, Cambridge, Collins ...) review the last twelve months to highlight what have been the star words of this year that ends, the neologisms that have broken with force in our daily vocabulary or the terms that have attracted the most interest.

Then, the main words of this 2018, according to these entities: how many of them have you incorporated into your day to day?

Toxic

The Oxford dictionary published in November what was the star word of this 2018: toxic. This term was imposed on other words such as 'gaslighting', 'incel' and 'techlash', used in many contexts throughout the year.

The people in charge of the web said that they opted for toxic because it had been one of the most wanted words (up to 45% more than the previous year) and by the variety of contexts in which it has been used during the last 12 months both literally and metaphorically: 'toxic masculinity', 'toxic politicians' ...

During the election of the word of the year, the committee valued other words that have been very present both in social networks and in the media:

'Incel'

The incel movement encompasses a virtual community of heterosexual men and misogynists who complain about being "involuntarily celibate" for "guilt" of the constant rejection of women, against whom they direct all their hatred and frustration.

The incel began to say all kinds of barbarities under the anonymity in forums such as 4chan, Voat or Reddit but now they have starred murders (massive run over from Toronto) and violent acts.

'Gaslighthting'

It is a way of psychological abuse which is to present false information to make a victim doubt. The word has found its place in the political field, where some representatives disclose false information and without statistical base.

For example, Trump has been accused of doing 'gas light' in its management, accusing immigration of high crime rates without real evidence, or denying climate change ignoring the data that accredits it.

'Techlash'

The Oxford dictionary describes the term as "a strong and widespread negative reaction to the growing power and influence of large technology companies, in particular, those based in Silicon Valley. "

In other words, 'techlash'is the attitude against technological giants, like Facebook or Google, for the commercialization of personal data, the dissemination of false information, the lack of privacy ...

'Overtourism' or sobreturismo

The Oxford dictionary indicates that 'sobreturismo'refers to' a excessive number of tourist visits to a destination or popular attraction, which causes damage to the local environment and to historical sites, as well as a poorer quality of life for residents. "For example, the amount of waste on Indonesian beaches is a result of over-tourism.

'Big Dick Energy'

The BDE (big penis energy) has nothing to do with the penis or its size. The expression, which has become very popular in social networks like Twitter, it refers to a natural energy that emanates safety without being cocky and provokes admiration in the others.

'Orbiting'

In the digital world in which we move, the words linked to this reality constantly arise. The term 'orbiting', which also includes the Oxford dictionary, refers to'orbit someone '. That is, despite having ended a relationship, the person follows the ex by means of 'likes', comments of the photographs or videos, following the 'stories' of Instagram ...

Sorority

The term, which has been chosen as a neologism of the year 2018 in Catalonia according to the Institut d'Estudis Catalans, refers to the Solidarity relationship between women based on social, ethical or professional reasons. According to the IEC, it has been in 2018, when this word has really been incorporated into the social use and for that reason it will now be a candidate to be part of the Dictionary of the Catalan Language.