The Words of the Week - Feb. 21

‘Emancipation’

Emancipation rose in lookups this week, possibly due to articles written about historical emancipation for Black History Month.

As the nation celebrates Black History Month, Berkeley County’s deep Black heritage takes center stage, showcasing its role in shaping South Carolina’s history from the colonial era to the present day.... Enslaved Africans cultivated rice and indigo, generating immense wealth for plantation owners while creating a lasting cultural and economic impact on the region. By 1790, African Americans, the vast majority of whom were enslaved, outnumbered white residents by more than three to one. The county was home to notable figures such as Revolutionary War hero Francis Marion, but its enslaved population also played a vital role in the war effort, supporting militias and contributing to the economy that fueled South Carolina's push for independence. Following emancipation, Berkeley County’s Black residents engaged in Reconstruction-era politics and were elected to state and federal offices.
— The Berkeley Independent (Summerville, South Carolina), 19 Feb. 2025

Emancipation refers to the process or act of freeing someone from restraint, control, or the power of another, and especially freeing from bondage.

‘Qubit’

Lookups for qubit were notably high following news about a quantum computer.

Anyone who has sat through a third-grade science class knows there are three primary states of matter: solid, liquid and gas. Microsoft now says it has created a new state of matter in its quest to make a powerful machine, called a quantum computer, that could accelerate the development of everything from batteries to medicines to artificial intelligence. On Wednesday, Microsoft's scientists said they had built what is known as a “topological qubit” based on this new phase of physical existence, which could be harnessed to solve mathematical, scientific and technological problems.
— Cade Metz, The New York Times, 20 Feb. 2025

Qubit refers to a unit of computing information that is represented by a state of an atom or elementary particle (such as the spin) and that can store multiple values at once due to the principles of quantum mechanics. The word combines the qu- from quantum with bit, possibly with a punning allusion to cubit.

‘Verklempt’

Lookups for verklempt were high following last weekend’s celebration of the 50th anniversary of Saturday Night Live, which featured a host of former cast members (and hosts) returning to portray some of their most memorable characters. Verklempt is a word famously used by the character Linda Richman, played by Mike Myers, in a series of sketches known as “Coffee Talk.”

Anyone else tune in to last night's Saturday Night Live 50th Anniversary Special? It took me right back to being in middle school, staying up late to study classic sketches like it was my job and sneaking out to the living room after everyone had gone to bed. It made me a little verklempt!
— Sheridan Hendrix, The Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch, 17 Feb. 2025

The adjective verklempt means “overcome with emotion” or “choked up.” It is a borrowing of the Yiddish farklemt, meaning “depressed, grieving,” which in turn is the past participle of the verb farklemen, “to grip, press.”

‘Debbie Downer’

Debbie Downer, a word that comes from a name made famous on SNL, was also trending following the show’s anniversary special.

Cue the trombone, because Debbie Downer is back to ruin the vibes. The iconic “Saturday Night Live” character, played by Lexington native Rachel Dratch, made an appearance in a star-studded sketch during the “SNL50: The Anniversary Special” on Sunday night.
— Matt Juul, The Boston Globe, 17 Feb. 2025

We define Debbie Downer as “a negative or pessimistic person,” or in other words “a person who speaks only of the bad or depressing aspects of something and lessens the enthusiasm or pleasure of others.” It’s a useful term for the persistent pessimists in our lives, those charming folks who always have a depressing factoid to lob into the conversation, or a negative aspect to helpfully point out where none had been apparent. Debbie Downer, as a term, has a lot going for it: obvious and abundant referents, euphonious alliteration, and a comedic history. The term dates to 2004 and an eponymous Saturday Night Live sketch in which Rachel Dratch plays a woman who snuffs the light out of every conversation with reports and reminiscences that are, indeed, total downers. Debbie Downer was added to our dictionary in 2019 after years of sustained usage outside of references to the comedy sketch.

[H]aving a mate who genuinely loves and supports you is key to a strong relationship. I mean, who needs to be sleeping next to a Debbie Downer every night?
— Shantell E. Jamison, Ebony, December 2017

Word Worth Knowing: ‘Nope’

The nope worth knowing today is a noun, defined in our unabridged dictionary as “a European finch having in the male rosy-red underparts, blue-gray back, and black cap, chin, tail, and wings.” (The nope is also known as a bullfinch.) Of all the unflattering bird names out there, from bustard to booby, nope would seem the most brutal, wouldn’t it? Imagine being called a nope! Well, if that ever happens to you, you may simply respond, “Thank you, I am a European finch having in the male rosy-red underparts” and then see who has the last laugh. In any event, the noun nope is distinct from the adverb nope, and is a lot older to boot. It is thought to be related to a now-obsolete word for the bird, owpe, recorded in the 16th century.

Drayton, in that fine poem with an ugly title, Polyolbion, when describing the song-merits of various birds, employs several popular names which, in Bewick’s time, anyway, were still current in the north: as ‘nope’ for bullfinch; and although in the verses the redbreast, wren, and yellowpate intervene between “the nope,” yet he evidently refers to the bullfinch when he writes “which though she hurt the blooming tree, yet scarce hath any bird a finer pipe than she.”
— Charles G. Harper and J. C. Kershaw, The Downs and the Sea: Wild Life and Scenery in Surrey, Sussex and Kent (1923)