Trending: ‘perdition’

Lookups spiked 4,300% on February 27, 2019

Why are people looking up perdition?

Perdition spiked in lookups on February 27th, 2019, during Michael Cohen’s testimony before the House Oversight Committee. Rep. Mark DeSaulnier wished Cohen luck on his “road to redemption,” noting that the “opposite of that is perdition, as I remember.”

What does perdition mean?

Perdition has several obsolete or archaic meanings, including “utter destruction” and “loss.” Insofar as the word is employed in modern use it typically carries the meaning of “eternal damnation,” or “hell.”

Where does perdition come from?

Perdition came into English in the 14th century, borrowed from the Anglo-French perdiciun; it may be traced back further to the Latin perdere, meaning “to destroy.”

Citations

Now he came to have the greatest need of his Telescope to discern these, the Exhalations be|ing so very thick. Through which he could see the broad Road to Perdition thronged by full Caravans of silly men decoy'd in by the over-hot Zeal or officious Cheats of either blind or malicious Guides.
— Henry Hare Coleraine, The situation of paradise found out, 1683

Trend Watch is a data-driven report on words people are looking up at much higher search rates than normal. While most trends can be traced back to the news or popular culture, our focus is on the lookup data rather than the events themselves.

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