Trend Watch

Outsider

Candidates vie for the title of outsider after the third GOP primary debate…

When:

Lookups spiked on November 12, 2015.

Why:

Following the third GOP primary debate, the word outsider was used to describe several of the candidates, not only the two non-politicians who currently lead in the polls, Donald Trump and Ben Carson. Carly Fiorina is also routinely referred to as an outsider, but two senators, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, are also referred to as outsiders, as is John Kasich, who has served in congress and is Ohio's governor.

Outsider means "a person who does not belong or is not accepted as part of a particular group or organization." It's clear that the idea of being a person who has not contributed to the policies and ways of Washington is important for these candidates.

Surprisingly, outsider is not a very old word in English; in fact, our first evidence of the word is from a letter written by Jane Austen in 1800.


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