Oxford Languages, the famous language database that produces the Oxford English Dictionary, named ‘Vax’ the Word of the Year of 2021. After causing quite a stir, quite literally, the post-pandemic world appears to have used the word vax 72 times more frequently in September 2021 than the previous year, according to Oxford Languages.
Oxford Dictionary’s Word of the Year: Vax
In Oxford’s data analysis, the word ‘vax’ was most commonly used in Australia, North America, and South Asia, but it was also observed that Britain and other English-speaking nations were also using the term. ‘When reviewing the language evidence, vax stood out as an obvious choice. The word’s dramatic spike in usage caught our attention first. Then we ran the analysis and a story started to emerge, revealing how vax sat at the centre of our preoccupations this year’, Casper Grathwohl, the President of Oxford Languages was quoted as saying.
The term ‘Vax’ derives from the word ‘vaccine’, having been used for the first time in the 1980s. Due to the global vaccination drive, it has experienced an increase in usage this year. Interestingly, the word vax also appeared several times for those who are against vaccinations, commonly called anti-vaxxers. Oxford Languages did not announce its Word of the Year for the first time ever in 2020. Due to the chaos in which the world was engulfed, 2020 could not be summarized in one word. There were several candidates for 2020, from ‘coronavirus’ to ‘lockdown’, among others. However, Oxford declared that there were too many words that could summarize the year to choose one.
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