Dictionary.com reveals that ‘WOMAN’ is the 2022 Word of the Year and says it expects an ‘ever-evolving discourse’ over the definition

• Dictionary.com said searches for the word ‘woman’ increased more than 1,400 percent leading it to be declared the 2022 Word of the Year
• Annual selection is based on the site’s search data, language trends, and major cultural themes of the year
• Dictionary.com defined ‘woman’ as ‘an adult female person but admitted there would be an ‘ever-evolving discourse’
• Cambridge Dictionary earlier today received backlash after it updated its definition of ‘woman’ to include anyone who ‘identifies as female’

Dictionary.com has revealed that ‘woman’ is the 2022 Word of the Year after searches for the word increased more than 1,400 percent.

The selection is made each year based on the site’s search data, language trends, and major cultural themes.

Searches for the word increased when a question about the definition of the word was posed on the national stage during a Supreme Court confirmation hearing for Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, according to Dictionary.com.

The ongoing discussion of the definition resulted in double the typical annual search volume for the word, according to Dictionary.com.

The leading online and mobile English-language educational resource, defines ‘woman’ as ‘an adult female person.’ 

Dictionary.com revealed that the 2022 Word of the Year is ‘woman’ which is defined as ‘an adult female person. Searches for the word increased to its highest point this year, when a question about the definition of the word was posed during a Supreme Court confirmation

Surges in searches were evident during several of the year’s key events, including the equal pay settlement reached by the U.S. Women’s soccer team (pictured in 2019)

Surges were evident during several of the year’s key events, including the Dobbs v. Jackson decision, the historic midterm elections, the death of Queen Elizabeth II, the equal pay settlement reached by the U.S. Women’s soccer team, the retirement of tennis superstar Serena Williams, and the women-led protests in Iran.

Earlier today, Cambridge Dictionary received backlash after it updated its definition of ‘woman’ to include anyone who ‘identifies as female’ and was accused of kowtowing to ‘woke activists’

‘This year, the very matter of the definition of the word ‘woman’ was at the center of so many consequential moments, discussions, and decisions in our society,’ said John Kelly, Senior Director of Editorial at Dictionary.com. 

‘Our selection of ‘woman’ as the Word of the Year for 2022—and how the word is defined, who is included in that definition, who the word applies and belongs to—highlights how important the work of a dictionary is, and how dictionaries can impact people’s lives.’

‘Every day at Dictionary.com, our team is documenting how language is changing, following the data and cultural roadmaps,’ said Dara Sanderson, CEO, Dictionary.com. 

‘Our work culminates in an important selection, a word that defines a year and tells a deeper story. Perhaps no word is more relevant for those points than ‘woman.’ As we look at the year ahead, linguistically, culturally and politically, we anticipate an ever-evolving discourse.’ 

The ongoing discussion of the definition resulted in double the typical annual search volume for the word, according to Dictionary, including searches when Serena Williams retired 

Shortlisted words are inflation, quiet quitting, democracy and Wordle (pictured)

Dictionary.com said their 2022 shortlist reflected how people turn to the dictionary to help understand the terminology around current events. 

Shortlisted words are Ukraine flag emoji, inflation, quiet quitting, democracy and Wordle. The word ‘Wordle’ was added to the dictionary in 2022.

Earlier today, Cambridge Dictionary was accused of kowtowing to ‘a few woke activists’ after it updated its definition of ‘woman’ to include anyone who ‘identifies as female’.

A supplementary definition in the online dictionary now states the word can mean ‘an adult who lives and identifies as female though they may have been said to have a different sex at birth’.

Examples of usage include ‘Mary is a woman who was assigned male at birth’ and ‘She was the first trans woman elected to a national office’.

 The entry for ‘male’ has also been updated to include individuals who had a ‘different sex at birth’.

Cambridge Dictionary was accused of kowtowing to ‘a few woke activists’ today after it updated its definition of ‘woman’ to include anyone who ‘identifies as female’

Free Speech Union founder Toby Young warned the compilers had gone down a ‘slippery slope’.

‘It’s disappointing to see identity politics creeping into the way a dictionary defines words,’ he said.

‘The claim that these supplementary definitions of “woman” and “man” are based on “carefully studied usage patterns” doesn’t seem plausible. Who, apart from a few woke activists, define “woman” and “man” this way?

‘I suspect this new definition has been introduced as a result of lobbying by political activists, a slippery slope that no dictionary should go down.’

The heated debate over the definition of ‘woman’ went into overdrive when J..K Rowling mocked the use of the term ‘people who menstruate’.

She was ‘cancelled’ in some quarters, with many of the actors from the Harry Potter series of films also speaking out against her.

T-shirts emblazoned with dictionary-style text stating ‘Woman / noun / adult human female’ have added to the controversy, with critics saying it discriminates against transgender people.

Source: Read Full Article