The word of the year is a simple one you may have already used dozens of times today, but it brought on new meaning in 2019.
Merriam-Webster declares the word "they" as the word of the year for 2019.
Editors made the decision after seeing a 313% spike in the number of searches on their website.
Peter Sokolowski, a lexicographer for Merriam-Webster, says increased searches for "they" started with the rise of model Oslo Grace. Grace has modeled in men's and women's clothing on the runway.
The personal pronoun has grown to include people who have a non-binary gender.
According to a report by ABC News, Merriam-Webster recently added a new definition to its online dictionary to reflect use of “they” as relating to a person whose gender identity is non-binary. In October, the American Psychological Association endorsed “they” as a singular third-person pronoun in its latest style guide for scholarly writing.
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