'Austerity' is 2010 Word of the Year

Not many of us pay attention to our vocabulary. What words we often use, what words are newly coined, and what words are added to the dictionary.

Through the years, words get listed on the dictionary while others got removed mainly due to its reach, use, or lack of it. And little did we know that words are also good signs of the times. :D

Take for example the word 'Austerity.' It is declared as the 2010 Word of the Year. Here's why:

Austerity, the 14th century noun defined as "the quality or state of being austere" and "enforced or extreme economy," set off enough searches that Merriam-Webster named it as its Word of the Year for 2010, the dictionary's editors announced Monday.

John Morse, president and publisher of the Springfield, Mass.-based dictionary, said "austerity" saw more than 250,000 searches on the dictionary's free online tool and came with more coverage of the debt crisis.

"What we look for ... what are the words that have had spikes that strike us very much as an anomaly for their regular behavior," Morse said. "The word that really qualifies this year for that is 'austerity'."

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