From Quarantine To Pandemic, Here Are 5 New Words We Learnt In 2020 Courtesy Covid-19

2020 has been a difficult year – with so many firsts. People across the globe have gone through various economic, social, mental changes. However, Covid-19 has been successful in giving a new shape to our lives as well as vocabulary.

While struggling with the ongoing pandemic, most of us have observed an exponential rise in usage of certain words which are specifically related to the novel coronavirus disease.

Here’s a list of 5 words that largely define the Covid-19 era and were introduced to us during this period:

5. Pandemic:

‘Pandemic’ has been declared the word of the year 2020 by the famous American dictionary, Merriam-Webster. The word ‘pandemic’ has roots in Latin and the Greek ‘pandÄ“mos’, meaning “common, public.” Breaking it down further, “pan” means “all” and “demos” means “people.” ‘Pandemic’ is used to describe the illness which affects a very large population, having spread from a community to several countries across the globe.

The word became famous this year after the coronavirus epidemic was declared as a pandemic by the World Health Organisation (WHO) on March 11.

4. Lockdown:

“Lockdown” is the most used word of 2020. The Collins Dictionary defines it as “the imposition of stringent restrictions on travel, social interaction, and access to public spaces”. It defines the restrictions imposed in countries across the globe to prevent the spread of infection from one person to another and also to protect ourselves and others.

During the pandemic, people were not allowed to step out of the house except for buying necessities.

3. Quarantine:

Cambridge Dictionary announced their “Word of the Year” as “quarantine” as it was one of the most searched words in their dictionary. This word has a similar meaning to isolation and has been widely used throughout the year. But unlike isolation, quarantine involves separating and restricting the movements of people who were exposed to the contagious disease to see if they become sick.

2. Comorbidity:

It is basically a medical condition that increases a person’s risk of falling sicker if become Covid positive. A person is said to have comorbidity when he/she has more than one illness or health disorder which includes conditions like chronic kidney disease, COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), obesity, serious heart conditions, and type 2 diabetes. According to reports, over 48 per cent of the patients who died after the treatment during the Covid-19 had underlying comorbidities, said doctors around the world in their findings.

1. WFH:

WFH or “Work From Home” describes work being done remotely, instead of at an office. This concept was popularised due to the advent of the Covid-19 and was yet another measure that was adopted by a majority of the organisations because of the ongoing pandemic so that their employees can stay indoors and work in the safe environment of their homes. WFH is believed to be the new normal of the present world.

Asymptomatic, social distancing, sanitizer, containment zone, PPE, are some of the other buzz words of 2020.