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 |
To everyone offended by the mere consideration of “teabagger”:
A. The term was first used by the “teabaggers” themselves… but this point is unnecessary because:
B. A derogatory word (if you still choose to view it as such) is still a word. Dictionaries are not published so as to flatter and placate the sensibilities of the too-easily-offended, they are published to record the words that are in common and persistent use in the language. Alas, “moron” is a derogatory word to those to whom it applies, and yet it still belongs in the dictionary.
C. The offense given to the teabaggers is nothing compared to the offense given to our ancestors whose actions are trivialized by the comparison. The actual Boston Tea Party participants had a genuine and historically significant beef, whereas the roiled emotions of the recent tea party participants was neither different from, nor more significant than, the anxious worrying of those political-correctness enthusiasts who see threats to civilization lurking in the inadvertenet “hate speech” of preschoolers. And, just like the Leftist PC people, the Rightist tea party folks are driven by the same need to see their paranoia as something heroic and patriotic. Guess what? It ain’t either.
[...] of the Year contest: unfriend. The winning word choice is explained on the Oxford University Press Blog : “In the online social networking context, its meaning is understood, so its adoption as a [...]
[...] University announced the Oxford Word of the Year 2009: unfriend – verb – To remove someone as a ‘friend’ on a social networking site such as [...]
[...] The New Oxford American Dictionary "2009 'Word of the Year' is: unfriend." #hashtag is hot, too. #WOTD http://blog.oup.com/2009/11/unfriend/ [...]
@John: You hit the proverbial nail on the cranium when you said “Dictionaries are not published so as to flatter and placate the sensibilities of the too-easily-offended, they are published to record the words that are in common and persistent use in the language.” It’s surprising that you should even need to say that on a blog that is overtly about words and their relation to dictionaries.
In a perfect world, all words would have but ONE meaning and folks wouldn’t keep hijacking them and adding a pejorative meaning. Alas, life is much more complex and words have a way of taking on multiple jobs, and folks can take even the most innocent of words and turn them into emotionally laden verbal knives. Even in my lifetime, the word “gay” has been through several iterations of connotation.
Check out the Nov 4th 2009 episode of South Park entitled “The F Word” for a schooling in how words change their connotation – much more entertaining than reading an academic tome on “Profanity and Etymology.”
http://www.googlefight.com/index.php?lang=en_GB&word1=defriend&word2=unfriend
[...] right, ladies and gentlemen, “unfriend” is your 2009 Word of the Year (cue applause). The Oxford Dictionary defines this year’s winner [...]
[...] the other words under consideration for Word of the Year (here), I rather fancied intexticated (because its fun to say), funemployed (because it sounds glorious), [...]
DEFRIEND!
[de] from delete
delete + friend = defriend
[...] sentence, with its odd verbs, reminds me that the New Oxford American dictionary has just puckishly chosen the even odder verb “unfriend” as its Word of the Year.) The updates and comments of [...]
[...] ainda outras palavras referenciadas nesta apreciação como hastag e netbook… Pode ler-se aqui o anúncio oficial . Partilha Share [...]
[...] New Oxford American Dictionary has pronounced ‘unfriend’ its 2009 Word of the Year. All well and good… except I, along with many others, thought the [...]
[...] can read more of the words that made it into the dictionary this year right here. 45.136908 -76.142084 Published [...]
[...] http://blog.oup.com/2009/11/unfriend/ [...]
[...] In addition to unfriending people, this year we’ve added zombie bank, hashtag, sexting, birther, ecotown, and tramp stamp, among others, to the list of accepted vernacular vocabulary. [...]
[...] }); Happy Friday to all. It has been a crazy week, what with our Word of the Year announcement and all. So sit back, relax, and procrastinate your Friday away. You can tell your [...]
[...] http://blog.oup.com/2009/11/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.’“ http://www.blog.oup.com [...]
[...] If you have a Facebook account (and who doesn’t) you are probably aware of what it means to UN-Friend someone. That word is new to our vernacular, but made Oxfords “Word of the Year” [...]
[...] or defriend, I thought it may be interesting to look at the other words on the shortlist for 2009 Word of the Year. Honestly, I’ve never heard of most of them, which means I’m either behind the times or [...]
[...] about the process behind choosing the word of the year, and check out some of the other words that were in the running. Then let us know – what do you think should be the word of the [...]
@Derek: That’s a great derivation but sounds like folk etymology rather than a true portmanteau word. More likely that it’s a “traditional” construction using the Latin prefix “de-,” which means “away” (same root as “delete” < "de-"=away + "linere"=wipe: literally "to wipe away"), with "friend." But kudos for the suggestion because it does have some merit, if only because one meaning of the prefix "de-" is "delete!"
[...] New Oxford American dictionary has a knack for making astute choices for their word of the year, perhaps because, at [...]
[...] not a L4D reference), deleb (a dead celebrity apparently). A complete list is available on the Oxford University Press blog, if you want a bit of a [...]
[...] University Press announced on their blog that “unfriend” was the word of the [...]
[...] If you’re curious, other non-technology-related terms that almost made it to word of the year were “death panel,” “birther” and “tramp stamp.” You can check more out at the Oxford University Press’s blog. [...]
[...] The New Oxford American Dictionary's word of 2009 is "unfriend." Thank you, facebook. (Oxford University Press) [...]
In brief response to all the people who take issue with the term ‘teabagger’ used for participants in the “Tea Party Protests”… Oxford’s job is not to decide what is or is not a derogatory term – their job is to determine what words and phrases are used in what contexts today. Just because teabagging is also a sexual situation one can find themself in doesn’t mean it isn’t equally used in modern culture in the context mentioned here. Because it is.
And on a slightly less professional note: I think it’s a very appropriate term. That is all.
[...] learned this week that “unfriend” was the word of the year. That wasn’t the end of the world, though, as many Twitter words were in the [...]
[...] New Oxford American Dictionary announced its Word of the Year this week. Its selection? unfriend – verb – To remove someone as a ‘friend’ [...]
[...] New Oxford American Dictionary announced its Word of the Year this week. Its selection? unfriend – verb – To remove someone as a ‘friend’ [...]
In my profession of helping businesses understand their requirements for technology, I am constantly doing battle with those who only see their requirements in terms of technology. The problem with that is that business requirements are fundamentally different from the technology that will help them–this year. By definition, defining the world in terms of current technology is a dead end.
While some technological words describe relatively long-lasting technology, “PCs” for personal computers, etc. Most don’t.
Ok, I’m an old guy who doesn’t do FaceBook, but it seems to me a very particular kind of technology to be endorsed by Oxford’s “Word of the Year” designation. While it may permeate certain segments of the population, I really don’t think it (or any of the technological candidates) should be so endorsed.
(And don’t get me started on this business of using nouns as verbs…)
Hrumph!
Curmudgeon Dave
[...] New Oxford American Dictionary announced its Word of the Year this week. Its selection? unfriend – verb – To remove someone as a ‘friend’ [...]
[...] Unfriend. Word of the year, per Oxford dictionary. Sorry, but it can’t hold a candle to ‘Twhoring,’ ‘iBoner,’ and [...]
[...] New Oxford American Dictionary announced its Word of the Year this week. Its selection? unfriend – verb – To remove someone as a ‘friend’ [...]
[...] New Oxford American Dictionary announced its Word of the Year this week. Its selection? unfriend – verb – To remove someone as a 'friend' on a social networking [...]
[...] University Press ogłosił na swoim blogu, że „unfriend” zostało słowem [...]
[...] New Oxford American Dictionary announced its Word of the Year this week. Its selection? unfriend – verb – To remove someone as a ‘friend’ on a social [...]
[...] Wörter und Unwörter des Jahre gekürt. Das New Oxford American Dictonary hat nun das Wort “unfriend” zum Wort des Jahres 2009 erklärt. Das Verb bezeichnet das “Entfreunden” in so [...]
[...] bereichert die englische Sprache: Das New Oxford American Dictionary wählte das Verb unfriend zum Neologismus des Jahres 2009. Es sei aktuell geläufig und habe das Potenzial, dauerhaft benutzt [...]
[...] Bland Oxfords övriga 24 kandidater fanns flera teknologirelaterade ord: intexticated (upptagen med att skriva sms medan man kör), sexting (skicka sexmeddelanden via mobiltelefon) men även ord som choice mum (kvinna som väljer att vara singelmamma) och ecotown (samhälle som byggs upp och fungerar enligt miljövänliga principer). Många av orden har sitt ursprung i händelser i USA under 2009 (zombie bank, omdiskuterade teabagger och birther). Läs hela Oxfords lista här. [...]
[...] University Press wählt “unfriend” zum Wort des [...]
[...] New Oxford American Dictionary announced its Word of the Year this week. Its selection? unfriend – verb – To remove someone as a ‘friend’ [...]
Both the author of the blog and several of the commentators seem to be confusing two entirely different “un-” prefixes with two entirely different meanings: negative un-, which attaches to adjectives, and reversative un-, which attaches to verbs.
[...] news 22 Nov 2009 When the Oxford English Dictionary acknowledges some word, you know that the situation that created that word has some force. After [...]
[...] yeni eklenen sözcükler ve unfriend ile ilgili tüm açıklamalar burada. Bu da twitter’daki tartışma. Sosyal [...]
Habt ihr mal darann gedacht das auch leute die facebook.de gehen,kein Englisch können? Aber eures Entwickler hat nicht so weit gedacht.Der soll dann auch entwickler sein na dann schön dank. Macht was facebook.de auch auf deutsch.Und gewisse spiele sind die zeiten zu kurz versucht die zu verlängern.
[...] Read more on the Oxford University Press blog… [...]
[...] the OUP Blog, senior lexicographer Christine Lindberg praises the word’s lex-appeal, noting: “It has [...]
[...] Oxford University Press USA, on a retenu le verbe unfriend, soit l’action de retirer un nom de sa liste d’«amis» dans un [...]