LONDON - In true COVID-19 pandemic fashion, Oxford English Dictionary has named "vax" as the 2021 word of the year. "When our lexicographers began digging into our English language corpus data it quickly became apparent that vax was a particularly striking term," Oxford Languages said on its website.
According to Oxford Languages, vax— a derivative of vaccine— was a relatively low-key word at the beginning of the year. But by September, it was over 72 times more frequent in the English language than a year ago.