Gender and New Words in an Online World

The applied linguistics research presented in this chapter began with etymological and morphological analysis of a total of 337 shortlisted Words of the Year (WOTYs) in the lists published by four dictionaries from 2003 to 2017. Analysing and coding the WOTYs by theme showed that gender-related words formed a prominent category. The research explores how new words, freshly popularised words, or expanded meanings of existing words, can reflect evolving attitudes, the naming and overturning of disempowering practices, and increasing critiques of particular gender-related categorisations. The study investigated words that were coined to name gender-related phenomena that were previously nameless and identified examples of how popularisation of words and concepts via social media can express social change.