New words inspired by the corona crisis and what they mean

Ever since the internet, slang has travelled faster around the world and since the advent of social media, new words find themselves in use simultaneously all over the world.

The English language, being widespread across countries, is constantly growing and changing. As the coronavirus impacted the world in many ways, from the world order, to economics to personal lives, language had to grow and adjust to encompass the changes it bought. Here are some new words being used and what exactly they mean.

The Cambridge dictionary describes it as, "a group of people who go into quarantine together"

At a time where many people live alone, quaranteams are a good idea as they let people have access to their friends and family. Isolation can deeply impact one's health, both physical and mental and social bubbles can help alleviate that and improve the quality of life in a quarantine.

The Oxford Dictionary describes it as, "the action of compulsively scrolling through

social media or news feeds which relate bad news."

Doomscrolling was an inevitable part of the heavy year, from Bushfire updates to corona cases rising to the close US presidential election, the year has been rife with stress inducing news.

According to the Oxford Dictionary, the word comes from anthropo- (‘relating to humans’) and pause, and "it refers to the global slowdown of travel and other human activity during the pandemic, and alludes to some of the welcome consequences of this slowdown – fish were visible in the Grand Canal in Venice due to the reduction in water traffic; light and noise pollution across much of the world has decreased; and animals are being seen more frequently in their natural habitat as humans stay away. "

Melding Corona and vacation, this word refers to the break from work many people got due to the coronavirus. Many businesses eventually found ways to continue working from home or when the lockdown loosened but some got to enjoy a coronacation before.

There is a predicted baby boom in late 2020 and 2021 due to people being stuck at home with their families. The generation is preemptively being refered to as coronials or covidials, though some could argue that they count as Generation Alpha, what children of Millennials are called.

With most of the online world stuck at home trying to self care and self entertain, there are many things that started trending due to coronavirus, like making your own bread or stitching a mask. These are called quarentrends.

Before starting a video call, especially a formal one, people tend to neaten up the area around them to make a good impression. Videofurbishing is creating that perfect frame around you for a video chat. People also specifically choose an area in their house that is aesthetically pleasing, maybe add a few props to make a better impression. Most people choose to sit in front of bookshelves when on video calls.

Though they sound like a medical device, quarantips are actually bits of advice on how to quarantine. They can be on any topic, from health and hygiene, like how to sanitise a phone or boost one's immune system, to how to do certain things at home, like cut your hair or ways to keep busy.

Mixing conspiracy theories and corona, this word refers to the various theories on the origins and reasons of the coronavirus pandemic. Many don't believe it came from a bat in China and many political, theological, pseudoscience based reasons for the outbreak are given. Who knows, maybe one of them is the truth...

This refers to an upcoming day which many are looking forward to, the end of lockdown. Mixing lockdown and exit, loxit is a day when people can stop self-quarantining and wander out from their homes.

This tricky word refers to someone joining a video call on Zoom which they may not have been invited to. It could be an accident or it could be intentional, either way it can lead to some funny moments.

A person who behaves like a moron during or due to coronavirus is a Morona. It mostly refers to people who refuse to wear masks, social distance or follow other safety guidelines.

When a capitalist world has to entertain or comfort themselves when trapped, many turn to online shopping as a stress buster or for entertainment. This pouring of capital into the pockets of certain companies is called a Spendemic.