Merriam
Peter Sokolowski
Yes  it's been a big year or two or 100 for the word. In 2017  lookups for feminism increased 70 percent over 2016 on Merriam-Webster.com and spiked several times after key events  lexicographer Peter Sokolowski  the company's editor at large  told The Associated Press ahead of Tuesday's annual word reveal.
"The word feminism was being use in a kind of general way "  Sokolowski  said by phone from the company's headquarters in Springfield  Massachusetts. "The feminism of this big protest  but it was also used in a kind of specific way: What does it mean to be a feminist in 2017? Those kinds of questions are the kinds of things  I think  that send people to the dictionary."
Feminism's roots are in the Latin for "woman" and the word "female " which dates to 14th century English.  Sokolowski  had to look no further than  his  company's founder  Noah Webster  for the first dictionary reference  in 1841  which isn't all that old in the history of English.
"It was a very new word at that time  " Sokolowski  said. " His  definition is not the definition that you and I would understand today.  His  definition was  'The qualities of females ' so basically feminism to Noah Webster meant femaleness. We do see evidence that the word was used in the 19th century in a medical sense  for the physical characteristics of a developing teenager  before it was used as a political term  if you will."
"We had no idea he was the original dictionary source of feminism. We don't have a lot of evidence of what he was looking at "  Sokolowski  said.
She was applauded  and she sent many people to their dictionaries   Sokolowski  said.  The company  would not release actual lookup numbers.
Other events that drew interest to the word feminism was the popular Hulu series  "The Handmaid's Tale " and the blockbuster movie  "Wonder Woman " directed by a woman  Patty Jenkins   Sokolowski  said.
â Hurricane   which  Sokolowski  suspects is because people are confused about wind speed.
â Gaffe   such as what happened at the Academy Awards when the wrong best picture winner was announced. That was a go-to word for the media   Sokolowski  said.
Yes  it's been a big year or two or 100 for the word. In 2017  lookups for feminism increased 70 percent over 2016 on Merriam-Webster.com and spiked several times after key events  lexicographer  [TGT]   the company's editor at large  told The Associated Press ahead of Tuesday's annual word reveal.
"The word feminism was being use in a kind of general way "  Sokolowski  said by phone from the company's headquarters in Springfield  Massachusetts. "The feminism of this big protest  but it was also used in a kind of specific way: What does it mean to be a feminist in 2017? Those kinds of questions are the kinds of things  I think  that send people to the dictionary."
Feminism's roots are in the Latin for "woman" and the word "female " which dates to 14th century English.  Sokolowski  had to look no further than  his  company's founder  Noah Webster  for the first dictionary reference  in 1841  which isn't all that old in the history of English.
"It was a very new word at that time  " Sokolowski  said. " His  definition is not the definition that you and I would understand today.  His  definition was  'The qualities of females ' so basically feminism to Noah Webster meant femaleness. We do see evidence that the word was used in the 19th century in a medical sense  for the physical characteristics of a developing teenager  before it was used as a political term  if you will."
"We had no idea he was the original dictionary source of feminism. We don't have a lot of evidence of what he was looking at "  Sokolowski  said.
She was applauded  and she sent many people to their dictionaries   Sokolowski  said.  The company  would not release actual lookup numbers.
Other events that drew interest to the word feminism was the popular Hulu series  "The Handmaid's Tale " and the blockbuster movie  "Wonder Woman " directed by a woman  Patty Jenkins   Sokolowski  said.
â Hurricane   which  Sokolowski  suspects is because people are confused about wind speed.
â Gaffe   such as what happened at the Academy Awards when the wrong best picture winner was announced. That was a go-to word for the media   Sokolowski  said.