The Words of the Week - July 26

‘Endorse’

Lookups for endorse were higher than usual this week after President Joe Biden withdrew from the 2024 presidential race and endorsed his vice president, Kamala Harris. Vice President Harris’s candidacy was subsequently endorsed by other Democratic leaders.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries endorse Kamala Harris at press conference
— (headline) The Guardian, 23 July 2024

The use of endorse increases greatly in election years. The word carries a lot of meaning on its back, and for good reason: it comes from the Latin term dorsum, meaning “back.” Dorsum is the root of dorsal, meaning “relating to or situated near or on the back especially of an animal,” as in dorsal fin. That literal meaning of “on the back” is also the origin of endorse, which has been used to mean “to write on the back of a document” since before 1400. This can be simply a signature (as in “endorsing a check”), or it can be a more elaborate note such as approval of a promotion in the military or a specific notation of a driving violation on one’s license. The figurative meaning “to approve openly” or “to express support or approval of openly and definitely” is much newer, dating to the 1800s.

‘Brat’

Also in relation to Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential bid, the use of brat in campaign materials and endorsements has led to increased lookups for the word.

When pop star Charli XCX tweeted out “kamala IS brat,” she might not have imagined CNN correspondents and Democratic politicians weighing in. “So is the idea that we are all kind of brat and that Kamala Harris is brat?” asked a confused Jake Tapper Monday evening. While Harris’s K-Hive may have adopted their moniker from Beyoncé back in 2019, this year, it’s brat summer, named for Charli XCX’s viral new album. When BidenHQ rebranded to “KamalaHQ” following the vice president’s announcement she was taking over the Democratic ticket, a very smart member of her campaign staff added the recognizable brat-style logo to their social media.
— Paige Oamek, The New Republic, 23 July 2024

There are a number of different brats in the English language: a sausage, a child, an article of clothing (such as a cloak), and several others besides. The “annoying child” sense—the source of the meaning employed in the current and still-developing use—is thought to be related to the “article of clothing” sense, while the “sausage” meaning (a shortening of bratwurst) is distinct from these.

‘Weka’

Weka had an uncharacteristically big week for lookups following reports that a contestant on the reality show “Race to Survive: New Zealand” killed and ate a weka last fall. The contestant has apologized.

New Zealand officials have now issued warnings to the show’s producers, they said, after one contestant killed and ate a bird from a protected species during filming last October. The weka, a flightless bird known for its bold curiosity, is endemic to New Zealand and is considered vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, which evaluates threatened species.
— Isabella Kwai, The New York Times, 23 July 2024

Weka, which comes from the Maori word of the same meaning, refers to a species of flightless rail native to New Zealand. Rail is a word used for any of numerous wading birds of the family Rallidae that are of small or medium size and have short rounded wings, a short tail, and usually very long toes which enable them to run on the soft mud of marshes. It is thought that wekas probably became flightless after their ancestors’ arrival on the islands millions of years ago.

‘Resign’

Lookups for resign climbed this week following a pair of high-profile resignations.

New Jersey Sen. Menendez will resign in August following bribery conviction
— (headline) PBS NewsHour, 23 July 2024

Secret Service director resigns after Trump attack. It’s unprecedented, historians say
— (headline) The Miami Herald, 23 July 2024

When used today to refer to the action of leaving employment or a position, resign and quit carry similar meanings. However, many people hold that it is well-nigh impossible for any two words to mean the exact same thing, since there are often semantic subtleties and differences in register that distinguish between words. For instance, it is not at all wrong to say that someone quit a job in disgrace, but it is far more common to use resign in this setting.

Resign is also encountered more often in formal settings; our Unabridged dictionary gives the definition of “to give up, relinquish, or forswear one’s office, rank, membership, post, or charge especially formally and definitely — often used with from” as one of the verb’s senses. You may quit a job, position, or membership in protest, but, as with disgrace, this particular word is more likely to be paired with resign. Again, there is not a great difference between the two not-gonna-bother-with-this-mess-anymore senses of these words, but if it makes you feel better you may think of resigning as quitting when it puts on a bowtie; tidied up and starched, and occasionally a little more formal than it needs to be.

Word Worth Knowing: ‘Alvar’

Summer is the time of year when vacation-goers typically flock to beaches—whether adjoining a lake, the ocean, or some other refreshing body of water. Far less popular are alvars. We understand why, but they are still pretty neat. Alvar refers to a particular and rare type of plant community that consists of mosses and herbaceous plants that grow on steppe-like, shallow, calcium-rich soils over limestone. Alvars are often home to a lot of unique plant and animal species. Although they are most associated with Scandinavian landscapes (alvar comes from the Swedish word ålvar), the Great Lakes region of the United States and Canada boasts several important ones, including the 1,200-acre Maxton Plains Preserve in Michigan.

The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) celebrated Earth Day by expanding its protection of Cockburn Island, a largely unpopulated and undeveloped piece of land located just west of Manitoulin Island. … The additional 40 hectares of land announced on Monday prominently features alvars, a naturally open habitat characterized by shallow soils and areas of exposed bedrock that supports several at risk species. These species include plants like the Hill’s thistle and birds such as the wood thrush, with Cockburn Island being found along a major migratory bird route.
— Kyle Darbyson, The Sault Star (Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario), 23 Apr. 2024