Sorry, ‘maverick’: ‘Bailout’ named word of the year

“Bibliomancy” is divination of a familiar kind: Letting a book fall open and randomly jabbing a finger down and seeing what insights the word or words it lands on might offer. So what’s it called when millions of people in a given year are compelled to look up the same word in the dictionary? “Word of the year.”

In 2008, the most looked-up word, according to Merriam-Webster’s tally of online searches, was “bailout,” earning the term top-word status — and even beating out that other favorite of 2008, “maverick.” (Webster’s isn’t the only body making such designations: The American Dialectic Society is seeking nominees for “the word or phrase which best characterizes the year 2008.”)

As AFP points out, “bailout” — “a rescue from financial distress” — shouldn’t confused with its sibling, however apt. “Bail out,” which many of us may feel like doing, means to jump out of a crippled ship or airplane.

Merriam-Webster’s full top-10 list after the jump:

1. bailout (noun): a rescue from financial distress

2. vet

3. socialism

4. maverick

5. bipartisan

6. trepidation

7. precipice

8. rogue

9. misogyny

10. turmoil