A Question for Linguists

Published 19 Jul 2023

I'm not a linguist. I'd like to say I wish I was, but the thought of spending 4 years at university to call myself one isn't too appealing. Still, I find linguistics interesting, and based on some observations in the last few years I've had something on my mind:

Is there a term for when a sudden cultural event highlights a relatively unknown word or term and cements it in everyone's head – often to the point where the word is synonymous with said event?

My key examples:

Fracas – In March of 2015, Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson punched a producer in a dispute over food arrangements. When initially reporting on the matter, the BBC described the event as a "fracas", leading to the entire population of the UK searching up a term they've never heard before.
Furlough – As the Coronavirus pandemic hit the shores of the UK, the government announced it'd be introducing a furlough scheme to help keep people paid. While thankful, the population still had no idea what it meant.

Lesser examples:

Bootstrap paradox – In a rather novel scene of Doctor Who, Peter Capaldi's Doctor leans heavily on the fourth wall as he explains the concept of the bootstrap paradox, and outright tells the audience to Google it. They did.
Memes – This is cheating due to the way memes spread online, and it's also harder to quantify considering how cyberspace doesn't always influence the meat realm – obviously people exist in both, but the likes of LOLcats hasn't done anything for your average bloke on the street. But maybe it's more applicable in cases like Among Us, which exploded in popularity in the height of the pandemic, and completely ruined the words sus and imposter* for zoomers worldwide.

God, Google Trends must be useful for you lot.

Anyway, I find it funny when a word suddenly becomes super popular, even if it doesn't get used in regular vernacular. And I really want to know if there's a term for it. Either way if you have any thoughts, drop me an email!

... And if there isn't a term for this, dibs?

*The variant imposter is more favoured than impostor by those who play Among Us.

To those linguists who eyes lit up reading that, it seems that impostor is the preferred spelling for books and publications, whereas imposter is preferred by those online. Weird innit?