Trending: ‘tranche’

Lookups spiked 2,800% on February 22, 2022

Why are people looking up tranche?

Tranche spiked in lookups on February 22, 2022, following President Biden's announcement of sanctions against Russia in response to Vladimir Putin's announced recognition of regions of Ukraine as "independent" states:

So today, I'm announcing the first tranche of sanctions to impose costs on Russia in response to their actions yesterday.

What does tranche mean?

Tranche is defined as "a division or portion of a pool or whole," a synonym of the words slice, section, or portion.

Where does tranche come from?

Tranche comes from French. In modern French, it means "slice," as in "a slice of pie."

It comes from the verb meaning "to cut," trenchier, which is also the root of the English words trench (literally "a cut in the ground") and trenchant, which is used for the figurative meanings of "cutting," like "sharp," "caustic," or "clear-cut."

What is notable about this use of tranche?

President Biden's use of the word is both technical and strategic, since it indicates that further sanctions may be forthcoming following this first "slice" or "portion" of economic punishment.

Trend Watch is a data-driven report on words people are looking up at much higher search rates than normal. While most trends can be traced back to the news or popular culture, our focus is on the lookup data rather than the events themselves.