- Today's Word
Neologism
NEE-uh-loh-jiz-um
Definition
(noun) A newly coined word or expression.
Example
The rise of social media has introduced countless neologisms into everyday conversation.
Fun Fact
From Shakespeare to TikTok, new words are always being born—and not all of them survive. Neologism comes from Greek—neo (new) and logos (word). Linguists study neologisms to understand cultural shifts, while marketers and technologists rely on them to brand entirely new ideas. The internet, especially meme culture and niche online communities, accelerates the pace at which neologisms appear—and disappear.
(verb) To use vague or ambiguous language in order to avoid committing to a clear position or answer.
When asked directly whether he had approved the deal, the CEO equivocated for ten minutes without ever giving a straight answer.
Equivocate derives from the Medieval Latin aequivocare, meaning “to call by the same name,” built from aequus (“equal”) and vox (“voice” or “word”). The idea behind the root is of a word that sounds the same but carries two equally valid meanings — giving the speaker plausible deniability by exploiting ambiguity. It entered English in the 16th century, almost immediately acquiring its negative connotation of deliberate evasiveness.