The Etymology of Gaslighting
The word "gaslighting" comes from the 1944 film Gaslight, starring Ingrid Bergman and Charles Boyer.βββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββ A husband systematically manipulates his wife by dimming the gas-powered lights in their London townhouse and insisting nothing has changed when she notices. The flickering lights became the symbol of his campaign to make her doubt her own senses. The film was based on Patrick Hamilton's 1938 play Gas Light. The concept β making someone question their reality through persistent denial and contradiction β had no English term before this film. Therapists began using "gaslighting" informally from the 1960s, but it stayed specialist jargon until social media propelled it into everyday speech around 2016. Merriam-Webster named it Word of the Year in 2022.