As the Triangle has evolved in the breadth of its coverage, so has the English language and the words it offers. Over the past 100 years, many of the phrases we now take for granted have come to be.
1926: accident-prone, adj. & n.
In the Roaring Twenties, which were marked by carefreeness, jazz, and illegal consumption of alcohol, perhaps people became more prone to accidents.
1927: back-seat driver, n.
The first modern car was invented four decades prior, and by 1927, there were enough passengers giving unsolicited driving advice.
1928: classist, adj. & n.
While the elites danced the days away, 60 percent of families earned less than $2,000 in 1928, and with class distinctions came classism.
1929: effing, adj. & adv.
With the stock market crash, outraged citizens were given the option to use ‘effing’ instead of the profane alternative.
1930: economic blizzard, n.
This is one of many ways to describe the United States prior to the New Deal.
1931: interdisciplinary, adj.
As academic fields grew more specialized, a term was needed to describe the collaboration among them.
1932: brownshirt, n.
With the rise of the Nazi Party in Germany and Fascists in Italy, several English words were invented to describe the party thugs who had begun carrying out reigns of terror.
1933: pesticide, n.
Here, we have the beginning of a century of humans using toxic chemicals to kill animals and plants.
1934: public sector, n.
During World War II, it was surely important to clearly identify which part of the economy the government controlled.
1935: ecosystem, n
This term reflects a growing understanding that nature is profoundly more complex than isolated organisms.
1936: steroid, n.
Now, this drug is used primarily by gym rats, but at this time, it was solely consumed by elite athletes.
1937: logo, n.
Despite the economic blizzard, brands that focused on affordability continued to thrive and needed a name for their recognizable little graphics.
1938: elitist, n. & adj.
Upper-class Americans made up the majority of college attendees and soon began gravitating toward technocratic elitism and eugenics.
1939: macroeconomic, adj.
When nations allocate up to 70 percent of their GDP to their militaries, it might be a good time to examine the complexities of macroeconomics.
1940: acronym, n.
Acronyms like ABC (American Broadcasting Company) had existed for years before the word “acronym.”
1941: robotics, n.
Coined as machines began to demonstrate exciting potential, this word captured early hopes and anxieties about automation.
1942: Second World War, n.
Halfway through World War II, it was officially added to the Oxford English Dictionary.
1943: immune system, n.
Immunology became a critical area of research during the war. The war drew more women than ever before into important fields like biology, or at Drexel, engineering.
1944: genocide, n.
Despite the numerous genocides that occurred before 1944, the word was first used one year before the end of the Holocaust.
1945: mobile phone, n.
The name for the thing we all entirely depend on was invented almost 30 years before the mobile phone was.
1946; tween, n.
Young teenagers are arguably in the most awkward stage of their lives, and for that reason, they deserve their own category.
1947: computer program, n.
The coded instructions for computers demanded understanding before the population of personal computers.
1948: hippie, n. & adj.
Despite the counterculture coming two decades later, Billboard magazine first used it to describe a nature-loving musical artist in 1948.
1949: sexist, n. & adj.
World War II challenged sexist stereotypes by bringing women into male-dominated spaces, and discrimination against women began to be called out in the mid-20th century.
1950: multimedia, adj. & n.
Consuming information through sound, text, and images at once was suddenly becoming common.
1951: fast food, adj. & n.
Not only did chains like McDonald’s and Chick-fil-A not exist a century ago, but there was no name for this type of company model.
1952: information technology, n.
This term formalized the growing realization that the consumption and storage of information was soon to change forever.
1953: defund, v.
As Cold War priorities shifted, government spending and language adapted to describe the intentional withdrawal of financial support.
1954: graffiti, n.
This public form of artistic expression emerged in the 1960s primarily in New York and Philadelphia.
1955: aerospace, adj. & n.
This was the first year that more people in the United States traveled by air than by train.
1956: barcode, n.
When walking around campus today, feel pride knowing that students here invented and patented a system that is universally used.
1957: global warming, n.
The planet’s average surface temperature has increased by two degrees Fahrenheit since the 19th century, and this year marks the first time these changing conditions were described.
1958: Third World, n. & adj.
This old-fashioned term for developing countries was first coined to distinguish them from capitalist states backed by the United States or communist states supported by the Soviets.
1959: dopamine, n.
Being happy was not deemed so simple after scientists began to understand the complex chemicals, such as dopamine, which control human emotions.
1960: information age, n.
While information technologies expanded rapidly, it was time to name the fundamental change to how individuals interact.
1961: grandparent, v.
While the noun has been around for centuries, the validity of grandparenting is in question this year.
1962: download, v.
When this process was invented, information could move faster than any physical object ever had.
1963: scam, n.
With the rise of consumerism comes an increase in companies deceiving consumers.
1964: gender identity, n.
This term gave language to the difference between biological sex and personal internal experience.
1965: jet lag, n.
Just more than 60 years ago, there was no word to describe that grogginess of the morning following a ten-hour flight.
1966: panic attack, n.
Today, 11 percent of people in the United States experience this burst of impending doom annually.
1967: update, n.
This word, notably invented during the Information Age to describe software updates, is now used in daily conversations.
1968: on-air, adj.
One year earlier, the first global satellite broadcast took place, featuring The Beatles’ “All You Need is Love.”
1969: digital age, n.
Because of this new era, people were able to watch the moon landing on television this same year.
1970: counterculture, n.
For a decade marked with love of tie-dye, bare feet, flowers, and psychedelics, this term would define the sixties forever.
1971: username, n.
You might not be able to choose your name, but now, for the first time, you have options.
1972: metacognition, n.
If you are thinking about the fact that you are thinking about any of these words in a specific way, you are experiencing this awareness, recognized in 1972.
1973: wealth management, n.
Between 1970 and 2020, upper-income households experienced the steepest incline of income, perhaps resulting from their access to wealth management.
1974: content creation, n.
The name of the career path for people like Mr. Beast or Alex Cooper was invented even before social media.
1975: downsizing, n.
This word may have softened the reality of mass layoffs.
1976: sweet spot, n.
A true marker of counter culture is finding balance, the sweet spot, rather than overachieving.
1977: content warning, n.
With the rise of video games and the subsequent endless realities, it was important to note that not all content should be consumed by everyone.
1978: side quest, n.
The term for detouring into meaningful experiences was first coined in the gaming community.
1979: hip-hop, n.
Emerging from Black and Latino communities in New York City, this term named a new form of creative cultural expression, merging fashion, music, politics, and more.
1980: vaping, n.
Though it feels unmistakably modern, this word reflects an early attempt to rebrand nicotine consumption.
1981: voter suppression, n.
This term was coined simultaneously as one of the most notable examples of election intimidation in the United States, when Republicans turned away Democratic voters in a New Jersey gubernatorial election.
1982: passion project, n.
Though you might have heard of passion projects when preparing your college application, they have been around since before Wi-Fi.
1983: laptop, n. & adj.
Laptops were invented earlier, but the unofficial term for the personal computer did not catch on until two years later.
1984: bike sharing, n.
To put this word into practice, utilize Philadelphia’s Indego bikeshare.
1985: biodiversity, n.
At this point, scientists realized that the environment was not only worth protecting, but its ecology too.
1986: climate crisis, n.
Global warming had been acknowledged for years, but now it was considered a crisis.
1987: group chat, n.
Conversations that were previously reserved for time together became available constantly.
1988: school shooter, n.
Despite the overwhelming association of school shootings with recent decades, the first documented shooting on school property was in the 1760s in Pennsylvania.
1989: latte, n.
This term reflects coffee shifting from a utilitarian to a lifestyle product.
1990: spam, v.
A word that started in the comedy field became the perfect description for unwanted digital intrusion.
1991: body shaming, n.
As media standards intensified, language emerged to call out appearance-based cruelty.
1992: meh, int. & adj.
1993: fashionista, n.
1994: helicopter mom, n.
Parents were growing increasingly overprotective after the Satanic panic years, leaving kids more likely to be risk-averse.
1995: electronic cigarette, n.
This term reflects an attempt to modernize and sanitize smoking by pairing an old habit with new technology.
1996: ship, n.
This specific meaning of ship has nothing to do with sailing, but it is short for “relationship pairing,” usually proposed by fiction fans.
1997: binge-worthy, adj.
Entertainment was consumed at a growing rate, and in the instance of something quite enjoyable, it is now consumed for hours on end.
1998: zip line, v.
This is the verb, which interestingly came after the long-loved noun.
1999: deep cut, n.
This word rewards those who know more than what is trending.
2000: declutter, n.
Minimalism became a response to overconsumption.
2001: bromance, n.
This word both legitimized and humorized emotionally close male friendships.
2002: selfie, n.
Dissecting your own appearance had never been so easy.
2003: climate denier, n.
With the consensus that the climate crisis is real, there was a need to name the contrarians.
2004: pregame, v.
This part of the night can sometimes be the best, so it deserved its own name.
2005: disaster capitalism, n.
2006: glamper, n.
Combining the previously discussed counterculture and fashionista into one.
2007: death doula, n.
End-of-life care expanded beyond hospitals, as holistic views become more accepted.
2008: photobomb, v.
This word embraces the common unplanned interruptions of photos.
2009: mansplainer, n.
These have been running the world for centuries and finally were coined in 2009.
2010: water cremation, n.
Now, environmental concerns reshaped burial practices.
2011: doxing, n.
Online anonymity that was previously unquestioned became fragile.
2012: twerking, adj.
Though people had been dancing this way for decades, the word began trending in web searches in late 2011.
2013: edgelord, n.
This person loves shock value and is typically a man.
2014: deplatforming, n.
Well, this term can be used on mansplainers and edgelords.
2015: virtue signaller, n.
On the other hand, if someone is rushing to deplatform someone, they might be doing this.
2016: cancel culture, n.
Cancel culture is a result of many of the words on this list: sexism, climate denier, etc.
2017: CRISPR, n.
2018: forever chemical, n.
Now found in the majority of America’s public water, it is nice to know what we are drinking.
2019: stan, n.
2020: Covid-19, n.
2021: hybrid immunity, n.
2022: metaverse, n.
2023: rizz, n. & v.
Short for “charisma,” or for the act of wielding it.
2024: touch grass, v.
An insult to those who are fully immersed in the Internet.
2025: ragebait, adj.