Oxford Word of the Year 2009: Unfriend
Birds are singing, the sun is shining and I am joyful first thing in the morning without caffeine. Why you ask? Because it is Word of the Year time (or WOTY as we refer to it around the office). Every year the New Oxford American Dictionary prepares for the holidays by making its biggest announcement of the year. This announcement is usually applauded by some and derided by others and the ongoing conversation it sparks is always a lot of fun, so I encourage you to let us know what you think in the comments.
Without further ado, the 2009 Word of the Year is: unfriend.
unfriend – verb – To remove someone as a ‘friend’ on a social networking site such as Facebook.
As in, “I decided to unfriend my roommate on Facebook after we had a fight.”
“It has both currency and potential longevity,” notes 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. Most “un-” prefixed words are adjectives (unacceptable, unpleasant), and there are certainly some familiar “un-” verbs (uncap, unpack), but “unfriend” is different from the norm. It assumes a verb sense of “friend” that is really not used (at least not since maybe the 17th century!). Unfriend has real lex-appeal.”
Wondering what other new words were considered for the New Oxford American Dictionary 2009 Word of the Year? Check out the list below.
Technology
hashtag – a # [hash] sign added to a word or phrase that enables Twitter users to search for tweets (postings on the Twitter site) that contain similarly tagged items and view thematic sets
intexticated – distracted because texting on a cellphone while driving a vehicle
netbook – a small, very portable laptop computer with limited memory
paywall – a way of blocking access to a part of a website which is only available to paying subscribers
sexting – the sending of sexually explicit texts and pictures by cellphone
Economy
freemium – a business model in which some basic services are provided for free, with the aim of enticing users to pay for additional, premium features or content
funemployed – taking advantage of one’s newly unemployed status to have fun or pursue other interests
zombie bank – a financial institution whose liabilities are greater than its assets, but which continues to operate because of government support
Politics and Current Affairs
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 birth certificate
choice mom – a person who chooses to be a single mother
death panel – a theoretical body that determines which patients deserve to live, when care is rationed
teabagger -a person, who protests President Obama’s tax policies and stimulus package, often through local demonstrations known as “Tea Party” protests (in allusion to the Boston Tea Party of 1773)
Environment
brown state – a US state that does not have strict environmental regulations
green state – a US state that has strict environmental regulations
ecotown - a town built and run on eco-friendly principles
Novelty Words
deleb – a dead celebrity
tramp stamp – a tattoo on the lower back, usually on a woman
Notable Word Clusters for 2009:
| Twitter related: Tweeps Tweetup Twitt Twitterati Twitterature Twitterverse/sphere Retweet Twibe Sweeple Tweepish Tweetaholic Twittermob Twitterhea |
Obamaisms: Obamanomics Obamarama Obamasty Obamacons Obamanos Obamanation Obamafication Obamamessiah Obamamama Obamaeur Obamanator Obamaland Obamalicious Obamacles Obamania Obamacracy Obamanon Obamalypse |
[...] of how American English is used today, one they believe will continue to have relevance. Some of the other words considered were "intexticated" (if you're driving and texting, you're intexticated); [...]
@Unknown for saying “Unfriend doesn’t even make sense!The prefix un means not.but de means to remove.so it should be defriend!!!!”
Actually, it makes complete sense because the prefixes of “un” and “de” are almost the same. They both have several (similar) meanings, not just the ones you mentioned.
“Un” can be used to mean “not” but can ALSO be using to mean “remove” as well (among other meanings). Either way, it makes sense. If someone “unfriends” someone, they are NOT going to be friends with them any longer, they are REMOVING them as their friend.
It actually really depends not on the prefixes themselves, but how you’re using the word friend. Kind of like befriending, you can use the word defriend as an action in and of itself. You’re removing a friend. BUT if you are using the word “friend” as an action, you would likely use unfriend, meaning you’re doing the opposite of “friending” someone. Kind of like “unlock,” which is the opposite of locking something. The un- refers to the action of locking, as opposed to the removal of an actual lock. In that case, you might use delock (although, I do not know if that is an actual word.)
I honestly think both unfriend and defriend make sense; it just depends on preference. Personally though, I find that I usually use defriend as a future tense as in “I’m going to defriend her” and unfriend as a past tense as in “I unfriended her yesterday.”
[...] year, for example, the New Oxford American Dictionary announced that “unfriend” was its “Word of the Year” for 2009. I wonder if five years [...]
whew!….many vocabularies had entered my mind when i heard the news that the oxford dictionary had added the words unfriend,deleb, brown state,etc,. what a nice work keep up the good work.
GOD BLESS YOU
My goodness, what a lot of posts. Unfriend is of course not a good concept on social networking sites, and worse in physical form. Unfriend can be used as a threat, go from somewhere or just leave the website world. No doubt this unfriend concept will grow with social networking.
I’ve lost all hope in the English language and people’s intelligence after reading this.
[...] those by lexicographers and linguists, especially those by the New Oxford American Dictionary (which picked ‘unfriend’ as its word for 2009) and the American Dialect Society (which picked ‘tweet’). These picks are always fun, [...]
[...] March 17, 2010 in Uncategorized | Tags: bubble bath, facebook, reading I do believe that Facebook has ‘arrived.’ You can ‘friend’ someone AND ‘unfriend’ or ‘defriend’ someone. It says so right here. [...]
Annoying New Word–Intexticated New products and new technologies often need new words to describe them, but new technology can also be used as an excuse to create a new word when one is not needed. Intexticated is one such example, which, incredibly, was considered by Oxford as a potential word of the year.
[...] neologism of the year: “unfriend/defriend” See here. (As in “defriend” on FaceBook.) Several political neologisms made the shortlist, such [...]
So does this mean that the word “unfriend” will start showing up in dictionaries?
[...] words, because the 2009 Word of the Year was unfriend, chosen for of its (obvious) “currency and potential longevity“. I hope NOAD sticks to its original philosophy though; predictiveness is far more [...]
My goodness, what a lot of posts. Unfriend is of course not a good concept on social networking sites, and worse in physical form. Unfriend can be used as a threat, go from somewhere or just leave the website world. No doubt this unfriend concept will grow with social networking.
[...] that facebook has taken over, what a [...]
[...] dictionary has chosen UNFRIEND as the word of the [...]
Let’s hear more about Ardi!
Interesting post, thanks.
Maybe there shoudld be an unfriend button on many social sites to make it easier to get rid of stalkers?
[...] American Dictionary as the word of the year for 2009? It won out over a number of other options. Read more. It’s not just creeping into our language – it’s [...]
What is the word for how you feel when you’ve been unfriended? Is one in an unfrienzy?
[...] año pasado en el blog de Trendspoting se menciona que el New Oxford American Dictionary eligio la palabra “unfriend” (dejar la amistad) como la palabra del [...]
[...] can transform your understanding of how our society works and its effects on social behavior. The New Oxford American Dictionary has chosen ‘unfriend’ as its word of the year. To ‘unfriend’ means to remove someone from [...]
[...] Of course there’s the Oxford Dictionary Word of the Year 2009: [...]
[...] flies with a petticoat and umbrella. One of you did note “.. not a word, I know” but unfriend wasn’t a word before Facebook, and people STILL tell me that ‘Dag Yo‘* [...]
[...] than the day when they decide to “unfriend” themselves. Talking about the word “unfriend” which was the word of the year in 2009—it’s not only an awkward thing to do, but the [...]
My vote for word of the year 2010: vuvuzela.
Lets hear more about this..
Robert
[...] Computer interfaces have lots of concepts which are both states and actions, so are expressed as both verbs and nouns. Language has to accommodate this, leading to the appearance of words like the OUP’s word of the year for 2009, ”unfriend”. [...]
[...] the OUP Blog, senior lexicographer Christine Lindberg praises the word’s lex-appeal, noting: “It has [...]
[...] because texting on a cell phone while driving a vehicle) and many more… Check the list at http://blog.oup.com/2009/11/unfriend or read more about the subject at [...]
[...] gleder seg til å se Språkrådets fornorskning av ordet Oxford kåret til fjorårets internasjonale nyord; ”to unfriend” (som altså betyr å fjerne personer [...]
[...] of 2009, and ‘google’ (a verb) their word of the decade. The Oxford dictionary named ‘unfriend’ their 2009 word of the year. Christine Lindberg, Senior Lexicographer for Oxford’s US dictionary program said it had [...]
It is so funny how trends in society literally create new words.
I can specifically remember when the phrase “google” something was added.
Doesn’t anybody else use defriend instead?
Technology has already really affected all the parts of our lives. Now social networking site jargons are already in the dictionary! ” intexticated ” is the winner for me though.
[...] listed along with truthiness and bootylicious anytime soon, but could refudiate join the ranks of unfriend, hypermiling, and locavore as the 2010 Oxford Word of the [...]
[...] The New Oxford American Dictionary has chosen this word as the 2009 WORD OF THE YEAR! [...]
I would have much rather seen the opposite to ‘Befriend’ as ‘Befoe’. I’m always annoyed when a respected dictionary starts to reflect terms used by the modern social media, especially when these words have been created as a marketing gimick.