And even when a woman did conceive, negative language was still often used. “For a long time, a woman would ‘fall pregnant’ and that kind of ‘fall’ is somehow suggestive of a ‘slip up’ on the woman’s part,” Dent continues. “And even when it was used positively, that phraseology has stayed there with that kind of secret history tucked in it.”

Dating terms

Ghosting. Elsa-ing. Breadcrumbing. Dogfishing. Jekylling. What is it with our obsession with labelling dating terms and where the hell do they come from? According to Dent, it’s all down to trying to identify ourselves and our experiences by using tribal language.

“We talk about dating all the time, so we need to develop a sort of tribal language for it, where everyone knows what you’re talking about,” she says.

“Language catches up with our preoccupation. So when we’re really focused on one sort of thing, language will start to proliferate and the lexicon will then emerge. They’re pictures really, because then you can really take snapshots of what’s going on at a particular time.”

Dating trends, fertility and astrology: unravelling the language behind 2020’s biggest talking points