‘Youthquake’ speaks of millennial power as Oxford’s word of 2017
Oxford Dictionaries recognized the power of the millennial generation this month with its 2017 word of the year: youthquake.
Oxford lexicographers say there was a fivefold increase in use of the term between 2016 and 2017.
It is defined as “a significant cultural, political, or social change arising from the actions or influence of young people.”
The word, coined almost 50 years ago by then-Vogue editor Diana Vreeland, has been used to describe phenomena including surging youth support for Britain’s Labour Party and the election of 30-something leaders in France and New Zealand.
Each year, Oxford University Press tracks how the English language is changing and chooses a word that reflects the annual mood.
Oxford Dictionaries president Casper Grathwohl said youthquake has “yet to land firmly on American soil, but strong evidence in the U.K. calls it out as a word on the move.”
Runners-up included broflake — a man who is readily upset or offended by progressive attitudes that conflict with his views — and kompromat, a Russian term for compromising information collected for political leverage.
Oxford Dictionaries consultant Susie Dent said many of the year’s standout words “speak to fractured times of mistrust and frustration.”
Last year’s word of the year was “post-truth.”