'Youthquake' has been named the Word of the Year by Oxford Dictionaries.
The term is defined as a "significant cultural, political, or social change arising from the actions or influence of young people”. Its popularity reflects how the youth vote drove political change this year, both in the UK and New Zealand, mobilising history-altering support for opposition parties.
"In youthquake we finally found some hope in the power to change things, and had a little bit of linguistic fun along the way," said lexicographer Susie Dent. "It feels like the right note on which to end a difficult and divisive year.”
The word was first conceived by US Vogue's Diana Vreeland to describe how British youth were influencing fashion and music in the 1960s. Its usage has increased five-fold in 2017.
Other names to appear in the top 10 words of the year include Antifa, a political protest movement united by their opposition to facism; broflake, a term applied to men who are offended by progressive views that challenge their conservative views; and kompromat, a Russian term for compromising information used for blackmail.
Last year's word of the year was 'post-truth'.
The news come after Merriam-Webster announced 'feminism' as its word of the year, following a surge of online searches, interest and focus on women’s issues and news stories around women’s marches and sexual harassment claims.
