Treccani has revealed the neologisms of 2023

Like every January, Treccani has published the Book of the Year, a collection of neologisms that have marked the past year, added to the Italian Encyclopedia. The edition also includes notable events and personalities that have characterized the previous twelve months, summarizing in a few pages all the Italian historical-cultural events that will be remembered in the years to come. The new edition selects the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella as the person of the year, while highlighting the election of the first female prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, and the Nobel Prizes in biochemistry for Katalin Karikò and Iranian activist Narges Mohammadi as the most prominent events of 2023. Treccani's most followed section by Italians is, as always, the collection of the main new words of the year, a selection followed by the Italian Language Observatory, which compiles the neologisms to be added to the dictionary.

Among the neologisms of 2023 identified by the Observatory for Treccani, standout terms that were widely discussed in recent months include armocromia, the study of a person's color that gained attention in relation to the news about PD Secretary Elly Schlein, who had declared having an image consultant. Also added to the list is queer family, an expression brought into the spotlight in 2023 by the recently deceased writer Michela Murgia, and a series of words related to the environmentalist cause, including eco-talebano, a term indicating extremists in ecological activism. Additionally, there are terms like decarbonize, blue crab - a species that has invaded the seas influencing our ecosystem - intermittent fasting, Charon, heat code, oncological oblivion, underdog - also known as "loser" - downburst, global boiling, femicide, skin shaming and transilience, the ability to manage different resources in an interdisciplinary manner. Judging from the list of neologisms added by Treccani, which elicits criticism and applause on social media and beyond every year, it seems that 2023 was a year rich in controversies, from the political scene to the clash between climate change skeptics and environmental supporters. Italians have learned new ways to bully people, discovered which animals are harming our country's fauna, but have also explored new techniques to enhance their beauty. After all, it's all about transilience.