Collins Dictionary names 'Brexit' the word of the year

PanARMENIAN.Net - 'Brexit' has been named the word of the year by Collins Dictionary having been deemed "politics' most important contribution to the language for 40 years," The Independent reports.

According to Collins, the first recorded usage of the word arrived in 2013 but this year saw a 3,400% rise due to the EU referendum in June and the ensuing fallout.

Collins' head of language Helen Newstead likened the term's importance to the way in which the Watergate scandal saw the word -gate added as a suffix "to make any incident infinitely more compelling."

Following up Brexit's rear was 'Trumpism' which has been derived from the name of U.S. presidential nominee Donald Trump.

“Trump is not the first politician to have had his name co-opted by language," Newstead continued, citing ‘Thatcherism’ and ‘Reaganomics’ as previous examples. She stated that: "The longevity of ‘Trumpism’ as a word may depend on his success in the forthcoming election.”

The third entrant in Collins' list is 'hygge,' a Danish concept of creating cosy and convivial atmospheres that promote wellbeing.

Other words to feature include 'mic drop' - a theatrical gesture in which a person drops a hand-held microphone as the finale to a speech - 'snowflake generation' - the collective name for the young adults of the 2010s' - and 'JOMO' which is the joy of missing out.