When:
Lookups spiked on August 1, 2013.
Why:
Russia granted temporary asylum to Edward Snowden, the former NSA contractor who leaked information about governmental surveillance practices.
Asylum means "protection given by a government to someone who has left another country in order to escape being harmed." It comes from the Greek word meaning "inviolable," which in Greek literally means "exempt from seizure."
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
