'Woman' is Dictionary.com's Word of the Year as its search volume doubled in 2022
One of the leading platforms where people look for ‘meaning’, Dictionary.com has announced its ‘word of the year’ for 2022. The website on Tuesday, December 13, selected the word ‘woman’ as its annual search volume doubled in the past 12 months. As per John Kelly, Senior Director of Editorial at Dictionary.com, ‘woman’ and its definition were both at the core of several significant moments, discussions, and decisions in our society in 2022.
Choosing ‘woman’ as ‘Word of the Year’, he says, “Provides an acknowledgement of the gravity of the various events affecting women in 2022." Kelly adds, "From our perspective as observers and recorders of language change, the word 'woman' is a prime example of the many gender terms undergoing shifts in how and to whom they're applied. “Our selection of 'woman' as our 2022 Word of the Year reflects how gender, identity, and language are shaping our current cultural conversation — and how it shapes much of our work as a dictionary," he continued.
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While selecting Word of the Year, Dictionary.com takes into account a few parameters. Kelly told People that the word must see "a significant increase in searches" in the last year and "capture the major cultural themes and trends in language that helped define" that time. Though this entire process can be challenging, Kelly said it was fairly ‘easy’ this time around. He even admits it was "the swiftest and most decisive" selection since they started this tradition. Kelly’s comments make sense as women have been involved in some of the most impacting stories and headlines, this year, both in the United States and worldwide.
In Tuesday’s press release, the platform shared that searches reached their highest point, (over 1,400% above normal), when Ketanji Brown Jackson, Supreme Court Justice, was asked about the definition of a woman during a confirmation hearing. "The prominence of the question and the attention it received demonstrate how issues of transgender identity and rights are now frequently at the forefront of our national discourse," says Kelly.
Some of the news that makes ‘woman’ the Word of the Year’ came from women’s sports, ‘the possibility’ of Serena Williams retirement, the settlement in the US women’s national soccer team’s equal pay lawsuit, and the detention of WNBA star Brittany Griner in Russia, inflated the word search. Further, women’s rights issues, including Supreme Court’s ruling in the Dobbs v Jackson case, and massive ongoing protest in Iran, adds to it. "From our perspective as a dictionary, it's a big deal when a word like 'woman' rises to the top of our conversations and concerns in our society," Kelly emphasizes.
