The term originated as a form of self-designation, being used by members of the People's Party active in the United States during the late 19th century. In the Russian Empire during the same period, a group referred to itself as the "narodniki", which has often been translated into English as "populists". The Russian and American movements differed in various respects, and the fact that they shared a name was coincidental. In the 1920s, the term entered the French language, where it was used to describe a group of writers expressing sympathy for ordinary people. Following 2016, the year which saw the election of Donald Trump as president of the United States and the United Kingdom's vote to leave the European Union—both events linked to populism—the word "populism" became one of the most widely used terms by international political commentators. In 2017, the Cambridge Dictionary declared it the Word of the Year.