“Youthquake” has just been crowned as WORD OF THE YEAR 2017 by the renowned Oxford Dictionaries.
The blend between “youth” and “earthquake” generated the noun translated into: “a significant cultural, political, or social change arising from the actions or influence of young people”.
Casper Grathwohl, president of Oxford Dictionaries, said: ‘Youthquake may not seem like the most obvious choice for Word of the Year, and it’s true that it’s yet to land firmly on American soil, but strong evidence in the UK calls it out as a word on the move.(1.)
The word “youthquake” also described New Zealand’s increasing youth engagement in politics there. The country’s new Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, is the world’s youngest female leader at 37.
Casper Grathwohl, President of Oxford Dictionaries, described the term as a less obvious choice for Word of the Year in a statement, but asserted it to be the right one, calling it a “word on the move.”
The other words in this year’s shortlist were: “antifa,” “broflake,” “newsjacking,” “white fragility,” “gorpcore,” “kompromat,” “Milkshake Duck,” and “unicorn”.
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