SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Merriam-Webster’s “word of the summer” is not even a word. That’s something no one can “refudiate.”
Sarah Palin’s attempt to splice “refute” and “repudiate” on a news show and in a Twitter message in July sparked more searches on the publisher’s online dictionary during the summer than most real words did. But don’t expect all the interest in “refudiate” to lead to an actual dictionary entry.
The former Alaska governor has laughed off criticisms about her pseudo-word, noting that Shakespeare also coined new words.
“Refute” and “repudiate” do have similar meanings. Refute means to prove something wrong or deny its truth or accuracy. Repudiate means to refuse any connection with something or reject it as untrue or unjust.
“I think people immediately knew what she was trying to say because the words ‘refute’ and ‘repudiate’ were also being looked up very, very frequently,” said John Morse, Merriam-Webster’s president and publisher.
“It’s an interesting blend, but no, ‘refudiate’ is not a real word,” he said.
“Refudiate” is joined on this summer’s list of top words by “inception” and “despicable,” for which online searches jumped immediately as movies were released with those words in the titles, “Inception” and “Despicable Me.” Some other often-searched words included “moratorium,” “austerity,” “opulent” and “doppelganger.”
“Frugal” also made the list, reflecting what Merriam-Webster editor at large Peter Sokolowski described as “a word and sentiment of the moment for the country.”
Palin wasn’t the first to blend two words with a similar meaning into one. Others have worked their way into the dictionary over time, such as “bold” and “audacious” blending to become “bodacious” or “guess” and “estimate” becoming “guesstimate.”
Jonathan Bobaljik, a linguistics professor at the University of Connecticut, said a term’s transition from slang to acceptance as a word isn’t a clear-cut process.
For instance, people with something in common — such as Palin supporters — might use a particular term to signal their affinity even if they know it’s not considered proper English.
“If enough people decide through popular consent that they’re going to use it, then it may eventually become a word,” Bobaljik said.
Indeed, Morse said lexicographers have told the Merriam-Webster editors they’re seeing more use of “refudiate,” though always by people who know the story behind it.
But it remains to be seen whether “refudiate” will become accepted as a “real word.”
“Will ‘refudiate’ get in the dictionary? Time will tell,” Morse said. “Lexicographers are not good fortune tellers, so even if I had a theory, that wouldn’t make it true.”
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