Essay:Best New Conservative Words

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Each year the English language develops about a thousand new words. Over the course of a century, that amounts to 100,000 new words. Since the King James Version of the Bible was published in 1611, perhaps a half a million new English words have been developed.

A small percentage of those new words are tremendously powerful. Here are some examples developed since the King James Version was published:

New Term Origin date Comments
accountability 1794
affirmative action 1965
American dream 1911 (OED)[1]
bailout 1951 The verbal form to bail out (in a figurative sense, which is meant here) dates from the 1580s. The literal sense is somewhat earlier. [2]
bork 1988 coined by William Safire to refer to how Democrats savage a conservative nominee, such as their defeat of Supreme Court nominee Robert H. Bork.
bureaucracy 1818
competitive 1829
conservative 1831
contest 1603 bring an action to law (verb)
copyright 1735 extending private property to protect expressive works
culture war 1991 widespread use after the book Culture Wars: The Struggle to Define America by James Davison Hunter
defacto 1689 exercising power as if legally constituted. [3]
demagogue 1648
deregulation 1963 Reagan won in 1980 by campaigning on this.
design by committee before 1958 Pejorative directed against collective production by a group
deterrence 1861
dumb down 1933
efficiency 1633 Ultimately from the Latin efficientem, meaning "working out, or accomplishing"[4]
elitism 1950
entitlement 1944
family values 1916 widespread use after a speech by Vice President Dan Quayle, 1992
Fellow traveller 1925 May have existed earlier, but popularized in 1924 by Trotsky. Describes a sympathizer of a cause but who does not formally belong to the cause, such as a communist sympathizer who is not part of the communist party.
foment 1613 the growth and development of
free enterprise 1820
free world 1949 areas of the world free of communism
go-getter 1921
Good Samaritan 1640 how genuine charity is the best approach;
grade inflation 1975 the tendency by Liberal educationalists and public schools to increase marks, irrespective of merit or actual achievement.
grassroots 1901
homeschool 1980[5]
incandescent 1794 bright and radiant, conquering darkness, precursor to the invention of the incandescent lamp (light bulb)
interventionism 1923 "governmental interference in economic affairs at home or in political affairs of another country"[6]
invisible hand 1776 Coined by Adam Smith in the Wealth of Nations and widely used today, yet Merriam-Webster fails to recognize it![7]
judicial activism 1947 First coined in an article in Fortune magazine by Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.,[8] and repeatedly used in U.S. Supreme Court opinions since 1967,[9] yet as of 2009 Merriam-Webster dictionary still fails to recognize this widely used term.
junk science 1962[10] the corruption of the scientific method to advance other goals
jury nullification 1700s the power of a jury to overrule the law and acquit an ostensibly guilty defendant; first established in colonies in 1735 in the trial of John Peter Zenger
hysteria 1801 From the Latin hystericus, from Greek hystera meaning "womb"[11] (an old notion that hysteria was caused by the womb).
microeconomics 1947 the study of the economics of the individual person or business
meritocracy 1958
me-too 1881
mobocracy 1754 rule by a mob, as at Wikipedia
opportunity cost 1911
parenting 1958 Children raising
patriotism 1726
personhood [12] 1955 Inherent rights guaranteed to all human beings from the beginning of their biological development, including the pre-born, partially born. Also, the state or fact of being a person.
phonics 1684
politically correct 1983 This term originated at the liberal University of Madison-Wisconsin to enforce liberal orthodoxy, but immediately flipped in usage to become a term of mockery of liberals.[13]
potential 1817[14]
privatize 1940 to return a business or enterprise from state to private control; to de-nationalize.
productive 1612
pro-life 1960
property right 1853
responsibility 1737 1787 HAMILTON Federalist No. 63 II. 193 Responsibility in order to be reasonable must be limited to objects within the power of the responsible party.
self-defense 1651
self-discipline 1838
self-indulgence 1753
self-reliant 1848
spend-and-tax 2009[15] a variation on "tax-and-spend" (see below), "spend-and-tax" consists of spending the money first and then trying to justify raising taxes based on the deficit created by the spending
tax-and-spend late 1900s Not yet recognized by Merriam-Webster, it is included in dictionary.com and it means the liberal policy of raising taxes and increasing government spending
trademark 1838 extends the concept of private property to the marks used by business
victimization 1840
wannabee 1981 the third most recent entry; a word that criticizes liberal status worship
War on Terror 2001 no listing at Merriam-Webster, Encyclopedia.com has an anti-American version [16] February 2, 2009 Obama ends use of the conservative lexicon. [17]
worldview 1858 a comprehensive way of looking at life and the world; sometimes used to criticize a liberal's irrational belief system

Rate of Generation of Conservative Terms

The rate of generation of conservative terms is increasing:

Century # New Conservative Terms
1600s 8
1700s 10
1800s 14
1900s 24
2000s 2

Conservative Words Not Yet Recognized by the Dictionary

A thousand new words are developed in English each year. Here is a growing list of conservative concepts, each of which is not yet defined by a single word or two.

Not Yet Recognized Terms Suggestions Comments
Unaffected by, or impervious to, the media mediaproof cf. bulletproof. Once John became aware of the extent of liberal deceit, he set about mediaproofing his mind.
easily amused by deceit dolophile from Greek/Latin root dolo- meaning guile, deceit, deception [1]
the opposite of materialism spiritualism and idealism have been its philosophical opposites, historically dualism has been suggested, but it is not the opposite of materialism; "spiritualism" is not a common term and is the "opposite" of materialism
runaway jury The term has existed for decades, but Merriam-Webster has not recognized it yet.
second-generation atheist cradle atheist
denial that Hell exists Hell-denier? Antinfernal?
deliberate ignorance the term exists; the dictionary does not yet include it
proven wrong, a refusal to admit it mulism; heel-digger? cf. mulish. This refusal is what promoted the Parable of the Good Samaritan.
term limits can you believe this is not in the dictionary yet? Merriam-Webster omits it, but dictionary.com includes it with an origin date of 1861[2]
illegal alien widely used in court decisions and political discourse for years, Merriam-Webster still does not recognize it is as a term.
strict constructionism an important term for over 200 years to describe adherence to the text of the Constitution, Merriam-Webster still does not recognize it.
denier of the effectiveness of abstinence abstinence-denier?
anti-family tradition opposer, familiopathic
militant gays intimidating homosexual
causing harm by spreading falsehoods e.g., denying or concealing disease and infertility caused by promiscuity
peer pressure can you believe that isn't recognized by Merriam-Webster?
modern idolatry "media idolatry"; "money idolatry"; "celebrity idolatry" idolatry conjures images of golden calves, and a modern version is needed
dramacast tabloid news mainstream media presents drama fluff stories as news, e.g. 20/20 - Dateline
schlockumentary propaganda film documentary films based falsehoods and half-truths

New Liberal Terms

New liberal words often have deceptive, or nonsensical, meanings. Here are some new words created by liberals to combat conservatism:

New Term Origin date Comments
atheist 1571
"Big Bang" 1948 term invented by the leading British physicist Sir Fred Hoyle to mock this suggestion of how the universe was formed
bilingual education 1972 a euphemism describing a costly and hurtful program that hinders the learning of English by foreign-born children in American public schools, which hurts their future opportunities
carbon footprint 1999[18] term indicates an individual human's effect on the environment by production of carbon dioxide
class warfare first entered the political lexicon primarily as an attack by liberals against conservatives. [19]
communism 1840
compassion fatigue 1968 Liberals, driven by materialistic self-interest, are likely to suffer from this.
condescension 1647
Dark Ages 1730 A term coined in the so-called enlightenment to disparage the period between the fall of the Roman Empire and c.1000, when the Christian faith, and its learning and culture, spread across Europe.
dead white males a disparaging term used of significant figures from previous generations by those who wish to undermine cultural literacy
detente 1970s A euphemism referring to pacifist policy re. the Soviet Union
distributive justice A term used to redefine socialist abridgment of rights as "just"
enlightenment 1669
environmentalism 1922 a mixture of pseudoscience and neo-paganism used to justify the imposition of socialistic controls.
freethinker 1692 the euphemism "free" hides the hostility towards faith, which is not free
fundamentalism 1922 "a movement in 20th century Protestantism emphasizing the literally interpreted Bible as fundamental to Christian life and teaching"[20] From a series of pamphlets called "The Fundamentals" which outlined the movement. Perjorative usage started when the liberal Harry Emerson Fosdick began using the term in a straw man attack against Conservative Christianity.
feminism 1895 notionally, "the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes"; in reality, the attempt to destroy traditional family, societal and religious values by erasing or undermining natural gender differences.
gay rights 1969 The movement for civil rights for homosexuals
glass ceiling 1984 the notion that an invisible barrier prevents women and ethnic minorities from reaching high office; an excuse for feminists and others to demand affirmative action
global warming 1969 The baseless environmentalist mantra that the earth's temperature is rising, and that human intervention is the cause.
homophobia 1969 used by Liberals to describe a failure to subscribe 100% to the homosexual agenda.
humanism 1808 [21]
imperialism 1851 a clever term later used by liberals to interfere with Christian missionaries and stopping anti-Christian tyranny
isolationism 1922 a pejorative term that is critical of American politicians putting America first in priorities
Keynesianism 1946 advocacy of 'tax and spend' policies as elaborated by the economist John Maynard Keynes; a euphemism for back-door Socialism.
Living Constitution 2000 a continually evolving Constitution (first used by presidential candidate Al Gore, title of a 1936 book by Howard McBain)
moderate late 1900s the original term dates from the French Revolution, but its meaning today is a euphemism for someone who favors abortion and/or supports censorship of Christianity in some ways
nationalize 1800 a euphemism for the government taking over ownership and control of a large company or entire industry, as in socialism
natural selection 1857 a misleading and euphemistic term for the theory that genetic advantages and conflict dictate survival
politically correct 1936 According to some sources, the term originally comes from Chairman Mao
population control 1968 the issue of population dates back to Confucius. Liberals promoted the term after the book The Population Bomb by Paul R. Ehrlich
pro-choice 1975 a euphemism for insisting on taxpayer-funded abortion; people who claim to be pro-choice typically oppose informed choice, which makes the "choice" meaningless
progressivism 1892 the progressive movement was not entirely liberal; it was started by a Republican and shared some goals with conservatives, and still does
quote mining non-existent a term used by evolutionists to describe taking quotes out of context in order to damage the position of the quoted party.
racism If you don't support Barack Obama, you are guilty of....
sexism 1968 That which is practiced by those who do not give total support to feminism.
situation ethics 1955 a euphemism for denying fixed ethical standards
strict liability 1869 court-imposed liability even when there is no evidence of any fault by the defendant
Swift-Boating 2004 Allegations of unfair campaign tactics.
undocumented immigrant 2000 a politically correct replacement for illegal alien.
unfair 1700
union shop 1904
unitarian 1687

Rate of Generation of Liberal Terms

The rate of generation of liberal terms is increasing:

Century # New Liberal Terms
1600s 4
1700s 2
1800s 8
1900s 20 (6 in the 1960s)
2000s 3

New Terms Difficult to Classify

These new terms are difficult to classify:

twilight zone 1949 the realm of imagination that seems impossible but is difficult to disprove, and which challenges ordinary views of reality

Downgraded Conservative Terms

These conservative terms are less significant:

byzantine 1794[22]
entropy 1868
Luddite 1811 one who opposes and even destroys technological advances
filibuster 1851
media 1923
milquetoast 1933
normalcy 1920 related to the election of Warren G. Harding by the largest margin yet in history

Sources

References

  1. OED refers to the Oxford English Dictionary. The Merriam-Webster dictionary gives a date of 1931.
  2. OED, bail, v1
  3. [2 Defacto] Merriam-Webster
  4. Online Etymological Dictionary
  5. The OED assigns a date of origin of 1850 to "homeschool".
  6. Merriam-Webster (1994).
  7. This term is absent from the 1994 print edition of the Merriam-Webster dictionary
  8. http://dic.academic.ru/dic.nsf/enwiki/278089
  9. United States v. Wade, 388 U.S. 218 (1967).
  10. http://rated.com/dir/Society/Issues/Environment/Opposing_Views/Junk_Science
  11. Meriam Webster Dictionary
  12. Personhood Dictionary.com
  13. But see 1793 J. WILSON in U.S. Rep. (U.S. Supreme Court) 2 (1798) 462 Sentiments and expressions of this inaccurate kind prevail in our..language... ‘The United States’, instead of the ‘People of the United States’, is the toast given. This is not *politically correct
  14. Usage here refers to "promise", not "possibility".
  15. http://blog.heritage.org/2009/03/02/morning-bell-the-obama-tax-and-spend-economy-is-here/
  16. war on terrorism Encyclopedia.com
  17. Obama administration drops 'war on terror' phrase Pew Forum, February 2, 2009
  18. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/carbon%20footprint
  19. The art of "class warfare", Ben Fritz, Spinsanity.org, January 15, 2003
  20. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fundamentalism
  21. http://newhumanist.org.uk/1740
  22. The usage here -- in sense of complex governmental rules -- probably developed later.