It’s the word of the decade. “A major signifier of our age.” “The invisible force that shapes our lives.” But what is “trauma”? Although it occupies the cultural spotlight, its meaning has never been hazier. Can we bring it into focus? “Trauma” derives from the ancient Greek for wound. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, this external bodily injury meaning dates back to 1684. Late in the 19th century, “trauma” acquired a second meaning as psychological injury. In 1894, for example, the U