Yes, covfefe is a word now. That's the Trump effect | David Shariatmadari

Influential people have always had the power to change language. The president's late-night typo sent the internet crazy, but will it stick around?

Covfefe is the word on everyone's lips. Or rather, it would be if people knew how to say it. You see, this latest contender for 2017's "word of the year" (see also: kakistocracy; emolument; kompromat) started life on the page. A page that was refreshed millions of times as Twitter users blinked at their screens in confusion. The president of the United States had once again typoed his way into the early hours and the world's befuddled consciousness. This time, however, unlike "unpresidented" and "honered", the mangling was so complete it wasn't immediately clear what he meant.

Trump's tweet went thus: "Despite the constant negative press covfefe", and that was it. Keyboard detectives have pointed out that the strokes needed to type "erage" are vaguely similar to "fefe", and that would fit semantically with the rest of the brainfart. So, boringly enough, he meant to type "coverage". But it was too late. Covfefe was born.