BharatNotes Coinage
nounUsage in a UPSC answer
The bureaucratic coinage of euphemisms such as "collateral damage" or "rationalisation of the workforce" often serves to launder uncomfortable policy realities, obliging the discerning citizen to interrogate the language in which governance is conducted.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Word Family
coinage (n), coin (n/v), coined (adj), coiner (n), coinable (adj)
Root
Latin cuneus = wedge (the stamping die) → Old French coignier = to coin → coignage; attested c. 1380
Etymology
From Old French coignage, derived from coignier ("to coin"), ultimately from Latin cuneus ("wedge"), referring to the die used to stamp metal into coins; first attested in English c. 1380.
Memory Hook
Think of minting a COIN: just as a mint stamps out a brand-new coin, a writer "coins" a brand-new word — that fresh stamping is its "coinage".
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