'Integrity' is named as word of the moment By John Innes The Scotman Mon 12 Dec 2005 In a year of elections, White House scandal and controversy over the Iraq war, thousands of people have searched for the meaning of integrity. The dictionary publisher Merriam-Webster has revealed the word was the most frequently looked-up by its website's seven million users in 2005. About 200,000 people went online to discover integrity means "a firm adherence to a code" and "incorruptibility". Other popular searches this year included the meanings of "tsunami", "pandemic" and "inept". Language experts said the most frequently looked-up words were a fairly accurate reflection of the major news events of the year. Derrick McClure, a senior lecturer in English at Aberdeen University, said he thought "integrity" was a fitting number one. "The word is used a lot in relation to politicians, and the Blair government has shot itself in the foot with the Iraq war," he said. "It's entirely appropriate for people to find out exactly what it means and exactly what it is politicians have ... or are lacking." John Curtice, professor of politics at Strathclyde University, said politics in the United States this year had raised issues of integrity on both sides of the Atlantic. "During the general election campaign, one of the issues that surrounded Blair was what he said about Iraq and the results of his actions," he said. "Iraq has taken off as an issue this year in America and various Republicans have been in trouble, like the White House advisor Scooter Libby." John Morse, the president of Merriam-Webster, said: "The entire list gives us an interesting window that opens up into what people are thinking about in their lives." But Prof Curtice said there also may be a more basic explanation - the media and government using language the general public does not understand. "The message to chief medical officers is to use simpler language. 'Pandemic' sounds like a mixture of 'panic' and 'epidemic'," he said. Number ten on the list is "inept", a word that has been trotted out by media commentators to describe leaders on both sides of the Atlantic. Sandwiched between "integrity" and "inept" in the list is a cluster of nouns and adjectives plucked from the headlines. Searches on "tsunami" jumped after the Indian Ocean disaster last December, while "levee" and "refugee" were linked to the Hurricane Katrina disaster that resulted in New Orleans being flooded. Word perfect The ten words most frequently looked up are: 1 Integrity - Incorruptibility 2 Refugee - One that flees 3 Contempt - Wilful disobedience to a court, judge or legislature 4 Filibuster - The use of delaying tactics to prevent action 5 Insipid - Dull, flat 6 Tsunami - A great sea wave 7 Pandemic - Occurring over a wide area and affecting a large proportion of the population 8 Conclave - A private meeting or secret assembly 9 Levee - An embankment for preventing flooding 10 Inept - Generally incompetent or bungling. Article at scotsman.com