The words “Bromance” and “climate jihad” made it into the latest longlist for the Collins Dictionary’s annual Word of the Year.
The annual Welsh-based dictionary’s longlist was released this week, following a passionate public vote which saw the words from the year come up against each other in an online poll.
“Both these words illustrate a return to the dry, thoughtful form of English from which we came,” Collins said of the longlist, the words set against a background of classical music and Wagner, with visual shots of members of the future symphony orchestra included.
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Bromance, a term introduced in 2001, originated in the collective “bromance” or “bromancely”, a loose term coined for the term “bromance”. The notion was first mentioned by Christian Slater in the TV show Heathers, about a high school called Heathers.
Singing, often with songs and music about other performing groups, was initially used as a way to make conversation, again and again, and at the same time, it was a way of emphasising voice quality. The term began to grow in popularity in 1950, before approaching its present definition of a shared focus and dedication.
The Welsh-based Collins Dictionary (pictured) asked the public to select the word, saying it wanted ‘the simplest, most acceptable word possible’. Photograph: Christopher Thomond for the Guardian
Other words and phrases that appeared in the poll included Rohingya (noun), climate jihad (noun), the Guardian (word) and #MeToo (symbol). Collins sought to make their longlist simple, it said, with the words all having appeared in popular and academic media in 2017.
The book also seeks to provide the “wider picture” through using relevant stories to illustrate the complex meaning and use of a word. This year, Collins emphasised the “agile user” who is growing in influence.
The 2018 Collins Dictionary was released in June and covers a broad range of terms from dancing and Australian crocodiles to the Chinese New Year.
