The Words of the Week - Feb. 2

‘Deepfake’

Deepfake saw a marked increase in lookups last week, after the social media site Twitter removed results for searches for Taylor Swift in response to a series of faked nudes photos of the singer.

What we keep getting wrong about deepfakes like the fake Taylor Swift nudes
— (headline) MSNBC, 29 Jan. 2024

A deepfake is “an image or recording that has been convincingly altered and manipulated to misrepresent someone as doing or saying something that was not actually done or said.” The fake portion of the word is fairly self-explanatory (it comes from the sense of that word meaning “not true, real, or genuine”); the deep portion is influenced by deep learning—that is, machine learning using artificial neural networks with multiple layers of algorithms.

‘Cognizable’

Cognizable had a rare moment of popularity last week as well, after a well-known legal scholar averred that there was insufficient cause to impeach the Homeland Security Secretary.

Turley says there’s no ‘cognizable basis’ for Republicans to impeach Mayorkas
— (headline) The Hill, 29 Jan. 2024

Cognizable is related to a number of other, more common, words in English: recognition, cognitive, and incognito. All come from the Latin word cognōscere (“to get to know, acquire knowledge of, become acquainted with, investigate”), and cognizable can be used to mean “capable of being known.” However, the word’s earliest meaning, and still the most common one, is a legal one that we define as “capable of being judicially heard and determined.”

‘Onside kick’

As we get closer to the Super Bowl more and more people begin paying attention to football games, and as a result onside kick saw a dramatic increase in lookups last weekend.

There was a tiny, tiny chance at a comeback if the Lions could have recovered an onside kick after Jameson Williams scored a 3-yard touchdown on fourth-and-goal to cut the lead to a field goal with just under a minute to play.
— Jared Ramsey, Detroit Free Press, 28 Jan. 2024

An onside kick is “a kickoff in football in which the ball travels just far enough to be legally recoverable by the kicking team.” Onside, when used in a sporting context such as this one, means “in a position legally to play or receive the ball or puck” (in contrast to offside, “illegally in advance of the ball or puck”). Onside kick has been in use since 1895.

‘Groundhog Day’

Groundhog Day spiked in lookups last week, a perennial occurrence, in anticipation of the event.

Groundhog Day canceled again in N.J. town, with organizers unable to find a suitable groundhog
— (headline) NJ.com, 30 Jan. 2024

We define Groundhog Day first in the sense that relates to the day on which it occurs: “February 2 observed traditionally as a day that indicates six more weeks of winter if sunny or an early spring if cloudy.” However, we also provide a secondary definition, which is “a situation in which the same usually negative or monotonous experiences occur repeatedly or are felt to occur repeatedly with no change or correction.” The first sense has been in use since the late 19th century; the second sense emerged shortly after the release of the film Groundhog Day (1993), in which the main character is forced to relive the same day (February 2) until he learns certain life lessons.

Words Worth Knowing: ‘Grudgeful’

Our word worth knowing this week is grudgeful, a perky little word defined as “harboring a grudge : full of resentment.” Who among us is not on occasion full of resentment?

So he brooded over his mortification with a sour and grudgeful gloom; and being, like most bad youths, the pet of his mother, to that amiable lady he soon imparted the cause of his sullen looks and his bitter chagrin.
— The Club-book, 1831