'Emolument' searches skyrocket 9000 percent after Trump loses bid to toss Constitution violation suit

Christal Hayes | USA TODAY

People looking up the word "emolument" on Merriam-Webster.com skyrocketed more than 9,000 percent after President Donald Trump lost a bid Wednesday to toss a lawsuit that alleges he violated the "emoluments" provisions of the U.S. Constitution.

The lawsuit claims the president violated these anti-corruption provisions by accepting money from foreign and state governments. It centers on spending by government interests at the Trump International Hotel, which Trump still owns.

Merriam-Webster said searches for emolument rose over 9,100 percent after a judge ruled against the president for the second time to have the lawsuit dismissed.

The dictionary website lists the word has been in use since the late 15th century and is defined as "the returns arising from office or employment usually in the form of compensation or perquisites."

The case was brought by the attorneys general of Washington and Maryland, who argue Trump is breaking the little-tested provisions. Those provisions bar top officials from receiving money from domestic and foreign governments without congressional approval.

More: Trump loses bid to toss out lawsuit on whether his hotel business violates Constitution

More: How Trump is navigating the Emoluments Clause

U.S. District Judge Peter Messitte said the attorneys general "convincingly argued" that the emoluments clauses applied in this case.

Trump did step away from managing his businesses, including the hotel, when he took office but has not given up ownership, meaning he can still pull money from the businesses at any time.

Merriam-Webster has poked fun at the president multiple times over the years for his misspellings and misuses of popular phrases.

Earlier this month, the dictionary website used its Twitter account to point out Trump misspelled the word "pour" in a tweet berating the news media for constantly criticizing his grammar in tweets.

After having written many best selling books, and somewhat priding myself on my ability to write, it should be noted that the Fake News constantly likes to pore over my tweets looking for a mistake. I capitalize certain words only for emphasis, not b/c they should be capitalized! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 3, 2018

The president wrote: "After having written many best selling books, and somewhat priding myself on my ability to write, it should be noted that the Fake News constantly likes to pour over my tweets looking for a mistake. I capitalize certain words only for emphasis, not b/c they should be capitalized!"

More: J.K. Rowling, Merriam-Webster mock Trump over misspelled 'pour' tweet

More: Twitter trolls Trump on 'heal' vs. 'heel' typo

The president later corrected the word "pour" to "pore."

Merriam-Webster defined both words then included a definition for the word "comb over."

'pore over' 🔍"to read or study very carefully"



'pour over' ☕️"to make expensive coffee"



'comb over' 💇‍♂️"to comb hair from the side of the head to cover the bald spot"https://t.co/br20fgpmAb — Merriam-Webster (@MerriamWebster) July 3, 2018

Contributing: Fredreka Schouten, USA TODAY