Merriam-Webster's Words for a Presidential Campaign

The quadrennial circus is in full spin once again and the media is rife with colorful examples of campaign babblegab and officialese centering on this year's big presidential election. We've searched through the archives of Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day to find ten intriguing words and phrases apropos to current and past political seasons, complete with "backroom" stories behind each term.

Please enjoy browsing our platform of jargon, and remember—whichever side of the aisle you sit, you can elect to have all the bells and whistles of the Word of the Day sent to you for free throughout the entire year!

bully pulpit  \BULL-ee-PULL-pit or BULL-ee-PUHL-pit\  noun
: a prominent public position (as a political office) that provides an opportunity for expounding one's views; also : such an opportunity

The Story Behind the Word
"Bully pulpit" comes from the 26th U.S. President, Theodore Roosevelt, who observed that the White House was a bully pulpit. For Roosevelt, "bully" was an adjective meaning "grand" or "splendid"—not the noun "bully" ("a person who threatens smaller or weaker people") that's so common today. Roosevelt understood the modern presidency's power of persuasion and recognized that it gave the incumbent the opportunity to exhort, instruct, or inspire. He took full advantage of his bully pulpit, speaking out about the danger of monopolies, the nation's growing role as a world power, and other issues important to him. Now "bully pulpit" is used as a term for an office—especially a political office—that provides one with the opportunity to share one's views.

fourth estate  \FORTH-iss-TAYT\  noun
: the public press

The Story Behind the Word
It might be news to you that the term "fourth estate" has been around for 250 years. In Europe, going back to medieval times, the people who participated in the political life of a country were generally divided into three classes or "estates." In England they were the three groups with representation in Parliament, namely, the nobility, the clergy, and the common people. Some other group, like the mob or the public press, that had an unofficial but often great influence on public affairs, was called the "fourth estate." In the 19th century, "fourth estate" came to refer exclusively to the press, and now it's applied to all branches of the news media.

incumbent   \in-KUM-bunt\  noun
1 : the holder of an office or ecclesiastical benefice
*2 : one that occupies a particular position or place

The Story Behind the Word
When "incumbent" was first used in English in the 15th century, it referred to someone who occupied a "benefice," or a paid religious position. This was often a lifetime appointment; the person could only be forced to leave the office in the case of certain specific legal conflicts. In the mid-17th century, "incumbent" came to refer to anyone holding any office, including elected positions. These days, in the American political system, "incumbent" generally refers to someone who is the current holder of a position during an election to fill that position. "Incumbent" came to English through Anglo-French, and derives from the Latin "incumbere," meaning "to lie down on."

mugwump  \MUG-wump\  noun
: an independent in politics

The Story Behind the Word
A 17th-century Massachuset Indian might not recognize his people's word for "war leader" if he saw it used today. In colonial America, "mugwump" derisively implied someone who was a "big shot." The first political mugwumps were Republicans in the presidential race of 1884 who chose to support Democratic candidate Grover Cleveland rather than their own party's nominee. Their independence prompted one 1930s humorist to define a mugwump as "a bird who sits with its mug on one side of the fence and its wump on the other."

pork barrel   \PORK-ba-rul\  noun
: government projects or appropriations yielding rich patronage benefits

The Story Behind the Word
You might expect that the original pork barrels were barrels for storing pork—and you're right. In the early 19th century, that's exactly what "pork barrel" meant. But the term was also used figuratively to mean "a supply of money" or "one's livelihood" (a farmer, after all, could readily turn pork into cash). When 20th-century legislators doled out appropriations that benefited their home districts, someone apparently made an association between the profit a farmer got from a barrel of pork and the benefits derived from certain state and federal projects. By 1909, "pork barrel" was being used as a noun naming such government appropriations, and today the term is often used attributively in constructions such as "pork barrel politics" or "pork barrel project."

pundit  \PUN-diht\  noun
1 : a learned person : teacher
*2 : authority, critic

The Story Behind the Word
The original pundits were highly respected teachers and leaders in India. Their title was taken from the Hindi word "pandit," a term of respect for a wise person that itself derives from the Sanskrit "pandita," meaning "learned." English speakers began using the form "pundit" specifically to refer to those Hindu sages as long ago as the 1600s. By the 1800s, they had also extended the term to refer to other sagacious individuals, and now "pundit" is often used with a hint of sarcasm to refer to informed opinion makers (such as political commentators, financial analysts, and newspaper columnists) who boldly share their views (sometimes at great length) about just about any subject that lies within their area of expertise.

quadrennial  \kwah-DREH-nee-ul\  adjective
1 : consisting of or lasting for four years
*2 : occurring or being done every four years

The Story Behind the Word
Most things "quadrennial" occur every four years (that's the more common use). We can say, for example, that the U.S. presidential election is a quadrennial ritual. But we can also say that president's term in office is quadrennial, making good use of the "lasting four years" sense. The Latin combining form "quadri-" adds a factor of four to many English words: "quadriceps" (the thigh muscle, which has four parts), "quadrilateral" (a four-sided polygon), "quadragenarian" (a person in his or her 40s), and "quadricentennial" (a 400th anniversary), to name a few. The "-ennial" part of "quadrennial" has the same root as in "biennial" and "centennial"; all trace back to "annus," the Latin word for "year."

roorback  \ROOR-back\  noun
: a defamatory falsehood published for political effect

The Story Behind the Word
If you think dirty politics are new, think again. In the midst of the 1844 presidential campaign between James K. Polk and Henry Clay, a letter was published in a newspaper in Ithaca, New York claiming that a reputable witness (one Baron von Roorback) had seen Polk purchase and brand 43 slaves. The letter caused an uproar that threatened to derail Polk's campaign until it was discovered that the whole thing was a hoax perpetrated by the opposing party. Baron Roorback didn't even exist. The incident proved a political boomerang; Polk won the election and the name "roorback" became a byword for political dirty tricks.

spin doctor  \SPIN-dahk-ter\  noun
: a person (as a political aide) responsible for ensuring that others interpret an event from a particular point of view

The Story Behind the Word
English speakers have been putting a "spin" (meaning "a particular emphasis or interpretation") on things since the early 1980s. The expression "to put a spin on" appears to have originated in the movie industry, but it was quickly snatched up by the political world. "Spin doctor" itself was likely coined during the 1984 Reagan-Mondale campaign, and by 1988 it was well enough established that William F. Buckley Jr. had cause to write "I am much impressed by the effects of what we have come to call the 'spin-doctors,' which is to say those who make it their business to induce the desired reaction."

vox populi  \VAHKS PAH-pyuh-lie or PAH-pyuh-lee\  noun
: popular sentiment

The Story Behind the Word
"Vox populi" is a Latin phrase that literally translates as "the voice of the people." It comes from the longer maxim, "Vox populi, vox Dei," which means "The voice of the people is the voice of God." Many people think that expression means that the people are always right, but it really implies that the will of the masses—right or wrong—is often irresistible. Since the mid-1960s, English speakers, especially British ones, have trimmed "vox populi" down to the abbreviated form "vox pop," an expression used particularly for popular opinion as it is used and expressed by the media.