Three months after formally defining pronoun “they”—used to refer to a single person whose gender identity is nonbinary—the Merriam-Webster dictionary crowned it their 2019 Word of the Year.
The term (Dictionary.com’s runner-up) has gained attention recently thanks to entertainers like Sam Smith, Asia Kate Dillon, Tommy Dorfman, Indya Moore, and Lachlan Watson.
According to the reference site, searches for “they” increased by 313 percent this year.
The singular “they” has a long history in English, but the term as a nonbinary pronoun is relatively new—and immensely important.
Its use, according to Merriam-Webster, is growing in published, edited text, as well as on social media and in personal interactions.
“It is increasingly common to see they and them as a person’s pronouns in Twitter bios, email signatures, and conference name tags,” according to a blog announcement.
Nonbinary “they” has also been prominent in the news this year.
Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) in April revealed during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on the Equality Act that her child is gender-nonconforming and uses “they.”
And the American Psychological Association’s blog officially recommended that singular “they” be preferred in professional writing over “he or she” when referencing a person whose gender is unknown.
Unlike Dictionary.com, which correctly chose “existential” to represent the past 11 months, Merriam-Webster highlighted the top lookups of 2019, including politically charged terms “quid pro quo,” “impeach,” “clemency,” “tergiversation,” and “exculpate”; cultural phrases “crawdad” and “camp”; and a grab bag of random words: “egregious,” “snitty,” even “the” (in reference to The Ohio State University’s trademark application).
More on Geek.com:
- Dictionary.com’s Word of the Year Is a Big Mood
- Learn to Speak Like a Millennial With 300+ New Dictionary.com Definitions
- Study: Be Careful How You Use the Word ‘The’
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