A.Word.A.Day--Yesterday's Word

A.Word.A.Day

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Aug 15, 2018

This week’s theme
Words from 1984 that are now a part of the language

This week’s words
newspeak
doublethink
Big Brother
unperson

“City Hall of Barcelona
Area monitored
in a 500 m radius
Plaza George Orwell”

Photo: fibercool

A.Word.A.Day

with Anu Garg

Big Brother

PRONUNCIATION:

(big BRUTH-uhr)

MEANING:

noun: An authoritarian person, organization, government, etc., that monitors or controls people.

ETYMOLOGY:

After Big Brother, a character in George Orwell’s 1949 novel 1984. The term big brother for an elder brother has been documented from 1809.

USAGE:

“When do cameras start feeling less like protection and more like Big Brother?”
Michael Dobie; School Security Takes a Big Step; Newsday (Long Island, New York); Jul 29, 2018.

See more usage examples of Big Brother in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

There is no human being who, as a result of desiring to build a better life, should be named or declared illegal. -Alejandro G. Inarritu, film director, producer, screenwriter, and composer (b. 15 Aug 1963)

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