Category: Etymology of the Year

• The 2025 Etymology of the Year

  

  “Fascism” is a challenging word for a challenging moment, and its origins may bear lessons for us.

  John Kelly

  November 4, 2025

  Etymology of the Year

• The 2017 “Etymology of the Year”: The Fake Origins of “Covfefe”

  While some casual observers speculated if covfefe would win Word of the Year, lexicographers duly noted that the presidential typo for coverage, if creating a curious cultural moment, lacked any meaningful use to genuinely merit any such award. I think covfefe does deserve a different prize, however: my second annual Etymology of the Year.

  John Kelly

  December 31, 2017

  Etymology of the Year

• The 2016 “Etymology of the Year”

  The mouth of Donald Trump excited a tremendous – er, huge – amount of etymological activity on Mashed Radish in 2016. But there’s one that easily trumped them all: the word trump itself, the winner of my first annual “Etymology of the Year.” Trump In early modern English, trump meant “to cheat” or “deceive.” This…

  John Kelly

  December 27, 2016

  Etymology of the Year