THEword of the year? AND “respect”. The Treccani Observatory of the Italian Language chose it for its extreme relevance and social relevance; emerged as part of the communication campaign #wordsareworth. «This term, from the Latin “respectus”, must today be reevaluated and used in all its nuances, precisely because lack of respect is at the basis of the violence exercised daily against women, minorities, institutions, of nature and the animal world” explain Valeria Della Valle and Giuseppe Patota, co-directors of the Treccani Vocabulary. No objections.
Neologisms, the language reflects current events
It’s a sign of the times, though. Just like the word “brain rot” (brain rot), selected for 2024 by the Oxford Dictionary to underline the devastating effects of online connection abuse. Among the candidate words were also “dynamic pricing”the controversial online ticket sales system for concerts and events that adapts the price based on demand, and “demure”, a word that went viral last August to indicate a sober attitude.
«Language feeds on current events» explains the linguist Michele Cortellazzo, professor emeritus of Italian linguistics at the University of Padua and member of theCrusca Academy. «What strikes me this year is the total absence of Italian terms. Among neologisms there are only anglicisms which, moreover, abroad are not considered new terms, but words in common use. They come to mind.”scooter rider“, or the now well-known “armochromy” due to the aesthetic choices of the secretary of the Democratic Party, Elly Schlein, or even “touristification”, a concept born from the French “tourism”, to underline the choice to pay for a ticket to enter Venice».
What are the words of the year 2024. For Treccani it is “Respect” (Getty Images)
«There is little creation. Probably because we are in a moment of cultural and economic tiredness. The company is committed to survival. It doesn’t even have anything to do with the current political trend. Inflation has begun to rise again, there are difficulties in looking for a job that is not precarious, that is not underpaid, there is the problem of doing the shopping, so at this moment we have less strength to search for new words” .
In fact, among the most popular words in search engines, Google found that, from current events, the term “intersex” emerged in 2024. As you will remember, there was a lot of talk about the Algerian boxer Imane Khelif last summer, during the Paris Olympics. Interest in the word had exploded following the withdrawal from the match, after 46 seconds, of the Italian boxer Angela Carini who had accused Khelif of having the strength of a man and an uncertain sexual identity.
Neologisms, as you are cringe
Meanwhile, boomer terms such as “cringe”, “hype” And “dissing”. The last person to use the word “cringe” was Elon Musk. On his social network, X tweeted his annoyance at LinkedIn, the social network dedicated to companies and the people who work there. The Tesla boss wrote something like this: «I immediately lose respect for anyone who posts on LinkedIn. Unbearably cringe.”
It makes you smile because the word ended up in the book Dictionary for boomers – Understanding the new generations (Bur) which, as a subtitle, reads “If you still haven’t understood what cringe is, this book is for you”. «In the past the expression was used by GenZ and generation Alpha only to highlight embarrassment about something. Today it is brought out to highlight the embarrassing or inappropriate behavior of boomers, “grandparents” or parentswho want to do or speak like teenagers or twenty-year-olds today” observes the author of the text, Beatrice Cristalli, a collaborator of Treccani who has been collecting new terms since 2017 to analyze the evolution of contemporary languages.
She confirms: «On social media the terms become obsolete within a week, the material is fluid, it changes quickly, but the words must be known to better understand this world. Today we have many generations, the transition is more complicated, there are fewer years difference between GenZ and Alpha, and now Beta (from 2025, all those born until 2039 will be ed) yet the words are different. There is the perception that words travel faster than in the past due to digital.”
Another very used word this year was “dissing” according to the online English course platform Preply which he revealed the 20 slang words and phrases used by the Italian Alpha Generation. The term is back in vogue with the rap argument between Fedez and former friend Tony Effe in relation to Chiara Ferragni. «In hip-hop culture it concerns a song that has the aim of insulting a person from the rap music scene itself» continues Cristalli. «In reality the word has always been known. The film 8 Mile with Eminem already told it. Yet it gives the idea of how magmatic the language is.”
The Marracash crash
Several words have arrived from TikTok this year, as revealed by Treccani. Like “slayare” which means doing a great job. Or “creator“, those who professionally publish innovative content online, and “pov”. Social media seems to be among the main sources of neologisms. «TikTok is in fact a privileged observatory» observes Massimo Bray, general director of Treccani. «It is a platform that greatly enhances people’s creativity, giving life to forms of expression that can reflect relevant social changes».
«But are we so sure that the new words only come from there? In my opinion there are also TV series, music, with the contribution of K-pop, music from South Korea. It’s an example of this.”idol“, which is based on K-pop idols” retorts the sociolinguist and writer Vera Gheno. In fact ithe recent song Crash by rapper Marracash (also known for a “dissing” with Morgan and Fedez) is a concentration of slang terms and neologisms, as well as a political certificate from the new generation (and an attack on Meloni and Musk). He sings: «Engagement, engagement, deception are increasing/ AI bubble, live concerts/ The desire to change the world with likes/ Crash crash crash».
The question remains as to what fundamental word we will carry with us into 2025. «I have no doubts: my favorite is “thank you”» says Gheno. “Maybe it’s trivial, but we certainly use it too little.”
Words of the year: 2024 in 10 neologisms
Brain Rot
It literally means “brain rot”, and indicates the increasingly widespread tendency to “binge” on undemanding digital content. The word was chosen as the representative one for 2024 by the Oxford Dictionary, the well-known English language dictionary published by Oxford University Press.
Intersexual
The term was among the most searched for of the year according to the 2024 Google ranking. The interest in it arose from the story of the Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, competing at the Paris Olympics.
And in the case that broke out after the Italian Angela Carini, who was supposed to meet her in her first match of the tournament, withdrew after 46 seconds, citing as the reason the (presumed) intersexuality of her opponent, who from birth would present sexual characteristics not exclusively feminine.
Dissing
In the hip-hop world, it concerns a song that aims to insult a person from the same environment as rap music. It came back into fashion with the argument between Fedez and former friend Tony Effe over Chiara Ferragni.
Slayare
In social media it means doing a great job, putting in a good performance. The term from TikTok has now entered Treccani. BigMama brought him live on TV, in the Concertone on May 1st, to comment on the excellent performance on stage of a colleague (Noemi).
Kiss met
The expression comes from Tinder. It’s a play on words from “kismet,” which means destiny or fate. Kiss-met is the desire for a spontaneous meeting that offers unexpected joy.
In practice, it’s like saying a “nice meeting”.
Overtourism
Together with “tourism”, it is a word that has long been reported among neologisms. It is back in fashion, however, after the ticket to enter Venice and the “keyboxes” in Florence.
Demure
The “demure” style has to do with discretion, sobriety and modesty. This trend, promoted on TikTok, entered Treccani this year, promoting sober and natural looks. The demure makeup is light and the look
it is minimalist, inspired by the concept of luxury without ostentation.
POV
POV is the acronym for Point of View, a communication technique created on social media to encourage identification with the users’ story. The creator of the story does not appear in the video but shows a subjective point of view. Among the examples most loved by GenZ is Gerry Scotti with his “column” #cheZmeans, a video in which he challenges other characters to discover who knows the most terms used by GenZ.
Brat
It means “brat”, “pest”. It gained notoriety thanks to singer Charli XCX and her 2024 album, which inspired the Brat Girl style, associated with rebellion and independence. The aesthetics of this trend is associated with the style of Paris Hilton.
OOAK
This acronym, widespread online, stands for “one of a kind” (“one of a kind”).
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