Words define us and explain the events of our generation. Such is the case with the current Coronavirus.
The Merriam-Webster dictionary recently added the word COVID-19. It took one month from conception to formal recognition, the fastest in the company’s nearly 200-year history. This wasn’t the only new word included in the dictionary because of the virus.
Usually, new words are added only after years of generally accepted use. But now, practically overnight, an entirely new vocabulary has developed.
Life may never be the same because of the virus, and that goes for our language. Here are some of the newest additions to our lexicon.
People have begun practicing physical distancing (also called social distancing), or will shelter in place, terms that only a few months ago might have seemed too self-explanatory to require a definition. Anyone thought to have the virus, or to come into contact with another carrier, has been asked to self-isolate. Many writers have been doing that for years.
Suddenly, we’ve all become epidemiologists as we use terms like flattening the curve, red zones, pathogen, incubation period, super-spreader, community spread, and zoonosis (the spread of the virus from an animal to a human).
Contactless deliveries have become the norm, as many who are fortunate enough are WFH (working from home). PPE (personal protective equipment) has become a critical issue in many hospitals. We now know about contact tracing, the practice of identifying those who came into contact with an infected person.
Forehead thermometer is a new term, even though I thought it would have already been accepted, but I guess not. Here’s one I hadn’t heard before: Intensivist. It describes a physician who specializes in the care and treatment of patients in intensive care.
These days, both specialists and average citizens pay attention to the epidemic curve. It’s the graph depicting the progression of the outbreak in a particular population. Scientists are also closely monitoring immune surveillance as they try to determine the body’s capability to destroy the virus.
Herd immunity is a controversial practice followed by Sweden. It is a plan to reduce the risk of infection once a significant proportion of the population has become immune because of previous exposure (or eventually, a vaccine).
Not to be outdone, Gen Zers have begun using slang words related to the virus, such as the Rona, an abbreviation of the longer Coronavirus. For a short time, Boomer Remover was a callous term used by some. But then the realization hit that young people could die from it as well, and anyone that didn’t pay attention was a covidiot.
Because schools have either ended classes or moved to online sessions, many students believe they are on coronacation, or vacation because of the Coronavirus.
Do you have other terms? If so, leave a comment below.