In a recent op-ed piece urging us to welcome and celebrate differences among people, Trinity College senior Jessica Duong wrote, "Empathy also includes holding others accountable in situations where people may be othered."

Othered? This was a new term to me. Scurrying to Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary, I found that the verb "to other" means "to treat or consider (a person or a group of people) as alien to oneself or one's group (as because of different racial, sexual, or cultural characteristics)."

To my surprise, I also discovered that the verb "other" and its forms "othering" and "othered" have been in widespread use for almost 30 years. The earliest citation I could find came in the preface of Toni Morrison's "Playing in the Dark," a book of literary criticism published in 1992. Morrison wrote, "I am a black writer struggling with and through a language that can powerfully evoke and enforce hidden signs of racial superiority, cultural hegemony, and dismissive 'othering' of people."

Morrison's placement of quotation marks around "othering" suggests that the term was unfamiliar to most readers in 1992. A Google Ngram search reveals that the use of "othering," perhaps propelled by Morrison's use, skyrocketed by 400% during the mid-1990s, accompanied by an equally dramatic spike in "othered."

Of course, many people cringe when a noun or adjective is converted to a verb like this, especially when a perfectly good verb with that meaning already exists, e.g., "What should I gift (give) you for your birthday?" or "Let's dialogue (talk) about this." Gaaakkk!

But, in this case, "to other" describes a human process that no existing verb quite captures. It denotes something broader than "to marginalize" or "to discriminate" do.

Interestingly enough, some argue that liberals' use of "other" as a verb actually contributes to political othering by alienating conservatives. In a recent piece for Commentary magazine titled "The Resistance's Hat Trick — 'Othering' for beginners," Christine Rosen wrote, "'Othering' is a term favored by the left ... Trump uses dehumanizing rhetoric to discuss immigrants; the left parries with 'othering' rhetoric about MAGA-hat wearing Trump voters. And round and round the cycle goes. It's great for clickbait and Twitter wars, but terrible for healthy debate."

It's clear that "othering," both the verb and the process it describes — and perhaps even provokes — won't be going away soon.

Rob Kyff, a teacher and writer in West Hartford, Connecticut, invites your language sightings. Send your reports of misuse and abuse, as well as examples of good writing, via email to [email protected] or by regular mail to Rob Kyff, Creators Syndicate, 737 3rd Street, Hermosa Beach, CA 90254.