The body described in the source as the Academy of Modern Spanish announced in Madrid on Wednesday that it had chosen the Arabic word laji’, meaning refugee, as Spain’s word of 2015.
A statement on its official website said the word was selected from 200 proposed Spanish and foreign words.
The displacement of hundreds of thousands fleeing war in Syria and other Asian countries to the European Union in search of safety and a better future had helped spread the Arabic word through news and social media, it said.
The statement explained that candidates normally had to meet conditions including being new and widely used in the media, social networks, and public conversation during the year.
It said the word had support from the official Spanish language academy responsible for the dictionary and might be included among new dictionary entries.
The same body selected “protest” for 2013 and “selfie” for 2014.