| | |  Travel Writers' Resources | November 2009 
Oxford University Press Announces the 2009 Word of the Year
 PVNN
November 19, 2009
| | Unfriended? | |
The newest word to be brought into the esteemed Oxford lexicon is `unfriend.`
As in, 'Christie unfriended Sarah on Facebook after their big fight, Friday.'
Oxford announces a new word every year that sums up, or encompasses, the last 12 months. Unfriend is a definite nod to the rapid rise of social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter.
"It has both currency and potential longevity," says Christine Lindberg, Senior Lexicographer for Oxford's US dictionary program. "In the online social networking context, its meaning is understood, so its adoption as a modern verb form makes this an interesting choice for Word of the Year."
Lindberg says unfriend is unique in that most 'un' prefixed words are not verbs. 'Friend' particularly, hasn't been used as a verb since at least the 17th century.
Here`s a look at some of the runners up for word-of-the year title:
Hashtag: a hash sign added to a word or phrase that enables Twitter users to search for tweets that contain similarly tagged items and view thematic sets.
Intexticated: distracted because texting on a cellphone while driving a vehicle.
Sexting: the sending of sexually explicit texts and pictures by cellphone.
Death panels: a term Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin used when criticizing U.S. President Barack Obama's health care plan.
Ardi: (Ardipithecus ramidus) oldest known hominid discovered in Ethiopia during the 1990s and announced to the public in 2009.
Birther: a conspiracy theorist who challenges President Obama's U.S. birth certificate.
Deleb: a dead celebrity.
Tramp stamp: a tattoo on the lower back, usually on a woman. |
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