Word of the Week
Word of the Week is compiled by experienced lexicographers who draw on huge computer resources of current usage normally accessible only to university departments and dictionary publishers. Each week we give you fascinating insights into how words are coined and how their usages change.
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Euro
The Euro is a unit of currency that is used by many European countries, but not by Britain.
However, as well as referring to money, 'Euro' is also used as a convenient way of describing things that relate to Europe and the European Parliament. The most common term is 'Euro-sceptic', meaning someone who is opposed to or worried about the European Parliament's power to pass laws that affect life in Britain.
Other similar but less common terms are 'Euro-doubter', 'Euro-hater' and 'Euro-critic'. This unfavourable view or 'Euro-scepticism' can also be seen when politicians and civil servants of the European Union are referred to as 'Euro freeloaders', the 'Euro-gravy train' or 'Euro meddlers'.
'Euro' can also be used in a less 'Euro-sceptic' way. British politicians elected to the European parliament are known as 'Euro MPs'. More informally, the term is used to refer to 'the Euro courts', 'Euro-aid' or a 'Euro-ban'. You might like to know that 'we are next to bottom in a Euro table of vegetable eaters'.
'Euro' also appears in names such as Euro Disney, the football competitions Euro 96 and Euro 2000, and of course in the Eurovision Song Contest. On the subject of music, types of music popular in Europe include 'Euro-pop', 'Euro-disco' and 'Euro-techno'.
A final, slightly different use of 'Euro' is in the term 'Euro-centric', meaning concentrating on events in Europe and ignoring the rest of the world. Political parties in Britain have been criticised for being 'almost completely Euro-centric in their trade policies, ignoring the Commonwealth', and schools for teaching 'a Euro-centric view of history'.
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