The world had to deal with the Novel Coronavirus as a global pandemic after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared it so. A virus that reportedly sparked its ugly head from Hubei, a province in China, the world later got wind of it after the virus had spread for a month or so. To some critics, the virus had even prevailed in China as far back as the last quarter of 2019 before it become a global worry!
The virus later came with the catchphrase “lockdown” since it spread via mysterious ways before scientists later chased its spread route(s). So, the best approach was for people to stay away from each other since one couldn’t easily tell who had it or not.
Well, “Lockdown” has been declared the word of the year for 2020 by Collins Dictionary, after a sharp rise in its usage during the pandemic.
It “encapsulates the shared experience of billions of people”, Collins said.
According to Collins, Lexicographers registered more than 250,000 usages of “lockdown” during 2020, up from just 4,000 last year.
Other pandemic-linked terms on the 10-strong list include “furlough”, “key worker”, “self-isolate” and “social distancing” as well as “coronavirus”.
Per the dictionary’s authorities, lockdown is defined as “the imposition of stringent restrictions on travel, social interaction, and access to public spaces”.
It came into common parlance as governments around the world responded to the spread of Covid-19 in early 2020 by placing strict measures to salvage the incessant spread of the virus.
Helen Newstead, a language content consultant at Collins, said: “Language is a reflection of the world around us and 2020 has been dominated by the global pandemic.
“Lockdown has affected the way we work, study, shop, and socialize.
“With many countries entering a second lockdown, it is not a word of the year to celebrate but it is, perhaps, one that sums up the year for most of the world.”
