QUARANTINE’ NAMED CAMBRIDGE DICTIONARY’S WORD OF THE YEAR 2020

QUARANTINE’ NAMED CAMBRIDGE DICTIONARY’S WORD OF THE YEAR 2020

Context

"Quarantine" has been named the 2020 Word of the Year by Cambridge Dictionary.

Details

•  “Quarantine” was searched for the most in between March 18 and 24, 2020 when restrictions began to be imposed due to the Coronavirus pandemic, as per the dictionary.
• It also stated that the word was chosen since it acquired a new meaning during the lockdown.
• Other new words added to the dictionary were “HyFlex”, short for hybrid flexible, a term used to describe a style of teaching that sees some students participating in a class virtually while others are also there physically; “Elbow bump” or a friendly greeting that allows people to maintain social distancing.
• Lexicographers said they picked the word because it had become synonymous with the experience of populations worldwide as governments look to curb the pandemic.

About Cambridge Dictionary

The Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary was first published in 1995 under the name Cambridge International Dictionary of English, by the Cambridge University Press. The dictionary has over 140,000 words, phrases, and meanings.