The purpose of this glossary is to provide vocabulary relevant to the culture wars. Feel free to comment with recommendations. Terms are arranged in alphabetical order and will be updated on a rolling basis.
C
concept creep: Originally characterized by Nick Haslam in 2016, this is the process by which words undergo expansion of meaning (semantic expansion), particularly for harm-related terms.
E
euphemism treadmill: The process of replacing terms as they become politically incorrect over time. For example, the term “homeless” has now shifted to “unhoused”; this is because we are generally aware being homeless is undesirable, and thus the term itself becomes loaded with negative connotations overtime. Changing this term to “unhoused” is an attempt to cleanse the negative connotations of the previous term.
S
semantic gentrification: Coined by Dave Hewitt of “Void if removed”, I will quote him here: “…users of a word’s original meaning are forced out by newcomers who consider themselves morally enlightened in comparison to the older population, who completely change the character of the term in service of their own, narrow interests, and who regard the now-homeless former inhabitants with contempt.” I strongly recommend the article.