SPRINGFIELD, Mass., Dec. 15 (UPI) -- "Culture" may seem too ordinary for a 2014 buzzword, but it was named Merriam-Webster's 2014 word of the year on Monday.
The Massachusetts-based dictionary publisher, which chooses its words of the year based on online look-ups, said "culture" experienced a significant increase in look-ups from 2013.
The company attributed the popularity of the word to headline catchphrases like "celebrity culture" and "rape culture."
"Culture is a word that we seem to be relying on more and more. It allows us to identify and isolate an idea, issue, or group with seriousness," said Peter Sokolowski, Merriam-Webster's editor-at-large. "And it's efficient: we talk about the 'culture' of a group rather than saying 'the typical habits, attitudes, and behaviors' of that group. So we think that it may be the increased use of this newer sense of the word culture that is catching people's attention and driving the volume of lookups."
"Nostalgia," "insidious" and "feminism" also made Merriam-Webster's top-ten list.
Last month, Oxford Dictionary chose its own word of the year: vape. Other shortlisted words included bae, normcore and slacktivism.
