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 |
Featured Image Credit: ‘Book, Hardcover, Text, Pages’, Photo by PublicDomainPictures, CC0 Public Domain, via pixabay.
[…] with a major amount of them coming from the worlds of social media and search. This morning the Oxford University Press announced that its 2009 Word of the Year is: unfriend. unfriend – verb – To remove someone as a ‘friend’ on a social networking site […]
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by lorenbaker and SEOptimise, Lauren. Lauren said: The Word of the Year is "unfriend." http://bit.ly/1Isnj Send me your top reasons to unfriend someone! Do it! Now! […]
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Social comments and analytics for this post…
This post was mentioned on Twitter by LaurenWick: The Word of the Year is “unfriend.” http://bit.ly/1Isnj Send me your top reasons to unfriend someone! Do it! Now!…
[…] our neck of the woods. And sure enough, they’ve done it again, this time with Oxford Dictionary declaring “unfriend” the word of […]
[…] just the word but THE Word of the Year (or WOTY as they refer to it around in their offices). As you expected to ‘unfriend’ someone […]
[…] Aggiornamento 16 novembre 2009: unfriend è la parola dell’anno 2009 per il New Oxford American Dictionary. […]
You left off my favourite Twitterism: Sh*tter (noun) One who posts every passing random thought (and action) to his Twitter stream.
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[…] Dictionary released its Word of the Year for 2009 and this year’s winner is one many of us are familiar with: unfriend. unfriend – verb – […]
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[…] Oxford Word of the Year 2009: Unfriend : OUPblog […]
[…] 16/11/2009: la parola dell’anno 2009 per il New Oxford American Dictionary è […]
[…] Unfriend (remover alguém de sua lista de contatos em uma rede social) foi eleita a palavra do ano pelo Dicionário Oxford. […]
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[…] Oxford Word of the Year 2009: Unfriend Jump to Comments Oxford Word of the Year 2009: Unfriend […]
Why not “defriend”?
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[…] This post was Twitted by stephenrandall […]
[…] they’re not one of *my* 31 dictionaries – but I do like their word of the year, “unfriend.” As in, “Once a former colleague unfriended me because of a comment I wrote on her […]
[…] Today, OUP unveiled 2009’s word of the year: “Unfriend.” […]
[…] with a major amount of them coming from the worlds of social media and search. This morning the Oxford University Press announced that its 2009 Word of the Year is: unfriend. unfriend – verb – To remove someone as a ‘friend’ on a social networking site […]
You’re kidding about “teabagger,” right?! Perhaps you should better understand the slang use of the term before you perpetuate the smearing of the Tea Party Patriots by continuing to use this disgusting reference.
I think you need to do a little more research about what “teabagging” means. Unless you meant to post a purposefully derogatory term.
[…] tech terms considered: hashtag – a # [hash] sign added to a word or phrase that enables Twitter users to search for […]
Following up from NorthernPaladin — Teabagger and Teabagging specifically means something else (placing one’s scrotum on an unsuspecting or disabled person’s face / eyes / mouth in a demeaning way). Anti-tax folks have been called “teabaggers” by members of the press as an offhanded insult that mainstream viewers may not get… I wouldn’t think that it would actually be included in the list, especially if “Tea-partier” is not.
[…] to Christine Lindberg, Senior Lexicographer for Oxford’s US dictionary program the word “unfriend” was […]
You should consider adding “Obamican” to your list of Obamisms. THe definition is a Republican who votes for or otherwise supports Obama.
You can Google it, or just go to Obamican.org, or the Urban DIctionary, or even visit Thenation.com.
Please don’t associate the Tea Party movement with teabaggers. There is as much equivalence as there is between Oxford and Ford automobiles.
[…] Get the full story here! 32.002704 -81.263862 […]
[…] Oxford University Press announces the 2009 Word of the Year Print Sharevar obj = SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "QOTD: Idiocracy", url: […]
[…] New Oxford American Dictionary ha scelto il verbo unfriend come parola dell’anno 2009: in Facebook il significato è rimuovere […]
[…] bien, este año 2009, según el NOAD, la palabra elegida es «Unfriend», como el término que designa el hecho de dejar de seguir a una persona en una red social […]
If you want to be considered wordsmiths, then you should understand their meaning before you publish them. Would you make the “n word” one of your words of the year because you heard someone on tv say it and therefore it must be okay? Of course not. The term “teabagger” is just as insulting and demeaning to members of the Tea Party movement.
New Oxford *American* Dictionary.
I feel better now.
[…] Here it is! Your 2009 New Oxford American Dictionary's Word of the Year! […]
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Mike is 100% correct. Wikipedia offers a detailed description of the process, but Wikipedia is not a very credible source and should not be treated as such.
However, the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals has provided a *legal definition* of the term in a 2006 which coincides with Mike’s explanation as a demeaning sexual act in the case of Cioffi v. Averill Park High School, et al., No. 04-5593-cv (2nd Cir. Apr. 4, 2006).
It states that teabagging is:
“A hazing act — indeed a form of sexual assault — during which the victim is pinned down on the floor by several players while another player rubs his genitalia in the victim’s face.”
Oxford appears to espouse an incredibly negative view of people expressing political dissent by referring to them in such a clearly derogatory manner.
They do good work..
[…] This post was Twitted by laurenm […]
So much for scholarship. “Teabagger” is a slang sexual term perpetuated by openly gay correspondent Anderson Cooper of CNN.
Please state your definitions correctly.
Michelle Malkin — Dear Oxford University Press: Get a clue about “teabagging”
http://michellemalkin.com/2009/11/16/dear-oxford-university-press-get-a-clue-about-teabagging/
[…] “Unfriend” is the Oxford Word of the Year 2009: Kata “Unfriend” terpilih jadi New Oxford American Dictionary 2009 Word of the Year! Kata yang lekat dekat Facebook itu mengalahkan sederet kandidat lain seperti hashtag, netbook, dan freemium. (via Facebook) […]
[…] un mot qu’elle considère comme caractéristique de l’année qui se termine. Elle a annoncé aujourd’hui que le mot chanceux est « unfriend ». Voici la définition qu’elle en donne : « To […]
[…] Oxford Word of the Year 2009: Unfriend : OUPblog […]
[…] – Oxford University Press announces the 2009 Word of the Year […]
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[…] argue no more, social networking lexicologists. the Oxford University Press today selected “unfriend” as its word of the year. I would just like to go on record as saying that I backed the right pony. In your face, Angry […]
It simply amazes me how ignorant some people are when they make obnoxious comments. I’ll be watching Fox News Channel for more on this.
In fact, the term “teabagger” has been around since the earliest days of “TEA PARTIES” and initially used by the organizers–long before the media adopted the term. In fact, they were quite proudly proclaiming that they would “teabag Obama before he teabags you”–it’s open to interpretation as to whether they had any idea of the colloquial use of the term. In any case, once the media publicized the issue and connected the term to the slang, the organizers did a 180 and stopped using it in their publicity. Either way, the term is richly deserved, as the comments here clearly attest.
The correct word for this action is “defriend” and not “unfriend.”
[…] web resources 17 Nov 2009 The New Oxford American Dictionary announced its Word of the Year today and like everyone else, the organization is keeping an eye on the internet. Its selection? […]
[…] New Oxford American Dictionary announced its Word of the Year today and like everyone else, the organization is keeping an eye on the internet. Its selection? […]
[…] This post was Twitted by gaygoygourmet […]
[…] few examples of other terms considered for the New Oxford American Dictionary 2009 Word of the Year: intexticated – distracted because texting on a cellphone while driving a vehicle (Bluetooth is […]
[…] Oxford Word of the Year 2009: UnfriendWe are totally linking to this. Because it’s an annual tradition. Because we love the logic that goes into the choice of Word of the Year. And because we live in fear of Rebecca unfriending us! […]
[…] This post was Twitted by SimonMainwaring […]
[…] This post was Twitted by tonytacacci […]
[…] Oxford Word of the Year 2009: Unfriend : OUPblog […]
[…] This post was Twitted by mysocnet […]
[…] our neck of the woods. And sure enough, they’ve done it again, this time with Oxford Dictionary declaring “unfriend” the word of […]
[…] has both currency and potential longevity,” said Christine Lindberg, Senior Lexicographer for Oxford’s US dictionary program. “In the online social networking context, its meaning is understood, […]
This is disappointing to say the least.
Seems to me that the senior lexicographer should be aware of the various connotations of words that it proposes as words of the year. Anyone unaware that “teabagger” has been used to ridicule Tea Party activists is not qualified to even be on the staff, much less in charge. You needn’t be an activist, much less on one side or the other, to be aware of this. Google it just once, for heaven’s sake.
And then this gem: “It assumes a verb sense of “friend” that is really not used (at least not since maybe the 17th century!).” That verb sense of the word friend doesn’t need to be assumed – it’s been in widespread use for many years, in the same context. I haven’t heard “unfriend” myself, though that’s not proof of anything. I have heard and used “defriend” many times. “Defriend” connotes reversing a previous action (“friending”), whereas “unfriend” puts me more in mind of an opposite, used in advertising, as with 7Up, the “Uncola”.
This post should be pulled down right now, and rewritten. I’m serious.
“In fact, the term “teabagger” has been around since the earliest days of “TEA PARTIES” and initially used by the organizers–long before the media adopted the term.”
I wasn’t aware of that. Source?
[…] on a social networking site such as Facebook.”, dipilih oleh kamus Oxford sebagai kata tahun ini.Entah apakah penyematan kata “unfriend” sebagai kata tahun in masih penting untuk […]
[…] New Oxford English Dictionary has announced that 2009’s Word of the Year is unfriend. While it is perhaps not used as broadly as the newly-verbed friend, the latter is […]
[…] you didn’t think that social media was THE trend of 2009, The Oxford Dictionary folks have announced that “Unfriend” is their […]
[…] This post was Twitted by thafreak […]
To Megan and Gregory: I have absolutely never heard anyone use the term “defriend” as a substitute for “unfriend,” but I hear people use “unfriend,” “unfriending,” and “unfriended” all the time. Maybe it’s different in different settings.
[…] our neck of the woods. And sure enough, they’ve done it again, this time with Oxford Dictionary declaring “unfriend” the word of […]
[…] Oxford Word of the Year 2009: UnfriendWe are totally linking to this. Because it’s an annual tradition. Because we love the logic that goes into the choice of Word of the Year. And because we live in fear of Rebecca unfriending us! By Lopy The Loper | posted in The Daily Loper […]
About Mrs Malkin’s post. This would, obviously, come from a Fox News collab… (read: skewed)
No, unfriend is definitely more lexy. Defriend misses the whole point and is both boring and uncreative. Unfriend should be compared to undo – which is in social networking exactly what one does. It’s not befriending someone and making acquaintances in reverse, it’s just undoing a function – unhitting the friend button.
NewsBusters: New Ox-Am Dictionary Names ‘Teabagger’ Word of the Year Finalist
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2009/11/16/new-ox-am-dictionary-names-teabagger-word-year-finalist
argue no more, social networking lexicologists. the Oxford University Press today selected “unfriend” as its word of the year. I would just like to go on record as saying that I backed the right pony. In your face,
“defriend” is the far more common used term. This is the first I’ve heard “unfriend” actually.
[…] New Oxford Dictionary’s editors have chosen their Word of the Year for 2009: “Unfriend.” This one was an obvious choice, given the amount of time people across the […]
@Maren – Nobody uses the term ‘defriend’. The word is ‘unfriend’.
As for all the posters complaining about ‘teabagger’ and even going so far as to say it somehow has the same negative meaning as a racial epitaph, @Buck Turgidson is correct. The term wasn’t used by other media outlets until after weeks of constant usage by organizers and Fox News correspondents. As usual you are now trying to rewrite history.
[…] New Oxford American Dictionary announced its Word of the Year today and like everyone else, the organization is keeping an eye on the internet. Its selection? […]
[…] our neck of the woods. And sure enough, they’ve done it again, this time with Oxford Dictionary declaring “unfriend” the word of […]
1. Add another voice of dissent for “it’s DEfriend, not UNfriend”. The prefix ‘de’ sounds more correct as an act of removal (eg delist, decouple) and anyway, no one uses ‘unfriend’.
2. I’m not up to speed on this tea party stuff (Australian). Can you add a ‘colloq’ entry for teabagger and teabagging?
3. An alternative to ‘tramp stamp’ is ‘tart art’!
In the interests of nerdy precision, I must report that “unfriend” didn’t originate with Facebook. People have been “friending” and “unfriending” each other on Livejournal for at least 10 years–the entire Facebook service has only existed for five. The usage probably moved to Facebook in late 2006/early 2007, when many Livejournal users did the same.
I do, however, particularly love the “teabagger” reference. The irate comments, which are equally priceless, conveniently overlook the fact that the movement’s leaders (including its cheerful advocate Fox News) popularized the use of the term “teabagger” to describe Tea Party participants–at least before they figured out it had a second meaning. Also, it’s incorrect to say that “teabagging”–the real one–is by definition a negative act. Like most sexual acts it can be a source of delight or revulsion, depending on the personal tastes of the participants. Instructions are available online, America. Mazel Tov.
Also, is Anderson Cooper openly gay? Openly adorable, sure, but I believe I missed his formal announcement on the matter. Wolf Blitzer’s beard is keeping a suspiciously coy silence as well.
I’m curious when the “#” symbol became known as “hash”, though. For at least the last 50 years, the Bell System (and its descendants) have called that the “pound symbol”–for the rest of us, it’s been the “number sign”, as in “we’re #1”. My understanding was that “hash” was either something you do to potatoes or something you find in abundance at Willie Nelson’s place.
Christine Lindberg is not with it when she says that “unfriend” “assumes a verb sense of “friend” that is really not used (at least not since maybe the 17th century!).” At least in my circle of LJ acquaintanceship, it’s common to say things like “If you get an account I can friend you and then you can read my flocked posts.”
This word does not apply to me, nor does it apply to the millions of people who do not subscribe to Facebook or Twitter. (I also find it ironic as all of the individuals I know to have Facebook admit to “friending” others who they couldn’t honestly call a “friend” — there are friends, and then there are Facebook friends, I suppose.) Living in the Stone Age isn’t so bad; if I ever needed to ‘unfriend’ anyone, I guess I could stop writing them letters =p
Personally, I think ‘Ardi’ should have won.
[…] No doubt inspired by the unfriending frenzy brought on by people thoughtlessly friending others on Facebook, the term “unfriend” has just been coined the 2009 Word of the Year by the New Oxford Ame…. […]
[…] “Unfriend” has become the 2009 Oxford Word of the year. Oxford blog […]
[…] 17, 2009 · Leave a Comment Monday the New Oxford American Dictionary named “unfriend” 2009’s word of the year. unfriend – verb – To remove someone as a […]
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[…] Today the New Oxford American Dictionary announced “unfriend” is the 2009 Word of the Year. May it not be a portent of things to […]
[…] to the Oxford blog some other twitterfic words were considered for the word of the year 2009 but unfriend was found to […]
[…] New Oxford American Dictionary has officially revealed its Word of the Year for 2009: Without further ado, the 2009 Word of the Year is: […]
‘Tea Party person’ is harder to say than ‘Teabagger’, and they used teabags as a symbol for a while: patriotic and logical. Cooper and others put a nasty meaning on the term — a meaning which most of the Tea Party people had probably never heard of nor practiced.
I hope the nasty meaning will be forgotten, or will simply make people think that Cooper and their other critics are dirty minded. Certainly it’s not fair to attack political opponents by dirty name-calling.
[…] Oxford American Dictionary de keus voor woord van het jaar bekend. Dit jaar is de keuze gevallen op ‘unfriend’ als werkwoord. Met andere woorden, het dumpen van je vrienden op Hyves, Facebook en wat al niet […]
[…] For more news follow this link https://blog.oup.com/2009/11/unfriend/ […]
[…] New Oxford American Dictionary has announced its Oxford Word of the Year, and this year it’s “unfriend”. Christine Lindberg, senior lexicographer for […]
I also use “defriend” and have never heard of “unfriend.” For the record, I’m 24 and use Facebook most regularly. I first signed onto Facebook when I was 19, right when it opened up to my college. I live in Los Angeles.
Surely the usage “defriend” and “unfriend” must break down along some definable lines like age, region or primary social network. It’d be an interesting thing to study.
Why not make the word of the year “friend” as verb? I guess it just doesn’t sound as quirky as “unfriend” but at least it’s more widely recognized as a real and correct word. And it has real longevity, I think, whereas who knows whether unfriend or defriend will win out at the end?
[…] considered: zombie bank, birther, genocide panel, funemployment, and hashtag. Strangely, usually half the definition of teabagging done it to print. [OUP] Image via National […]
[…] 17, 2009 · Leave a Comment The New Oxford American Dictionary has chosen its Word of the Year: Unfriend. unfriend – verb – To remove someone as a ‘friend’ on a social networking site such as […]
Defriend has been the commonly-used verbiage for several years.
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Google hits:
defriend: 46 300
unfriend: 393 000
I guess “unfriend” wins
[…] From the Oxford University Press (U.S.) Blog: Without further ado, the 2009 Word of the Year is: unfriend. […]
whoever wrote the definitions needs to research more and do a better job. notable “poor” definitions made more accurate: birther – a person who challenges President Obama’s birth certificate and then labeled as a conspiracy theorist by the media. teabagger -a citizen, who protests Presidents tax policies and stimulus package, often through local demonstrations known as “Tea Party” protests (in allusion to the Boston Tea Party of 1773)
[…] friend, befriend or to unfriend, this is the question The Word of the Year, according to the New Oxford American Dictionary, is the verb “to unfriend”: “Unfriend: To remove someone as a ‘friend’ on a […]
[…] neemt niet weg dat er ook heel wat ge-unfriend werd. De New Oxford American Dictionary vindt het fenomeen zelfs zo belangrijk, dat het de term heeft uitgeroepen tot woord van het jaar […]
[…] heeft in ieder geval “unfriend” (het verwijderen van iemand uit je sociale netwerk) tot woord van het jaar verkozen. Kanshebbers waren verder Deleb (dead celebrity), Funemploymnent (plezier weten te vinden […]
[…] New Oxford American Dictionary announced its Word of the Year today and like everyone else, the organization is keeping an eye on the internet. Its selection? […]
Quick points:
1. It should be de-friend, not unfriend. I’ve been using facebook since it began and do not agree with unfriend. (and I guarantee my facebook friends would agree with me)
2. Teabagging already has a definition, what’s the point of trying to take a dirty word and give it a politcal meaning?
3. Tramp stamp is not new and fresh, that has been around since ther early 2000s.
Yo Chris, I think they are trying to unwrite history.
[…] The New Oxford American Dictionary Word of the Year is…. UNFRIEND. That’s right, the negation of the verbification of ‘friend’. Well, it’s not quite as cringe-worthy as some of the runners-up… Teabagger?!? And previous winners of this honor were Hypermiling (2008), Locavore (2007), Carbon-Neutral (2006) and Podcast (2005) (links include each year’s finalists, including frugalista, staycation, bacn, mumblecore, Islamofascism, funner, lifehack and squick). Best comment about the WotY (so far)? “an unreliable yet fascinating barometer of tech”. But, at risk of over-editorializing, these look more like candidates for the Banished Words List. Clearly better is the recent list of “A Word a Year, 1906-2006″ from Oxford’s website (if only for the invaluable perspective of time). […]
[…] 「OUP blog」 Unfriend […]
[…] according to the dictionary’s blog, other terms that were under consideration this year included hashtag, sexting, funemployed, tramp […]
[…] out the Oxford post here. And Hat Tip to Resource Shelf. Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)Oxford’s […]
[…] notable word cluster of 2009 according to Oxford University dictionary press includes words related to microblogging site Twitter and other related to Obamaisms. […]
[…] the rest of the nominees here. Leave a […]
[…] 2009 November 17 by hslaton The New Oxford American Dictionary has named its word of the year for 2009: unfriend. As in, “I was forced to unfriend her on Facebook because she kept posting those […]
[…] so its adoption as a modern verb form makes this an interesting choice….” Other tech terms considered: hashtag – a # [hash] sign added to a word or phrase that enables Twitter users to search for […]
Re. the “defriend” versus “unfriend” discussion.
No-one ever came across a “defriendly” person, but an “unfriendly” one – yes!
[…] year around this time, the New Oxford American Dictionary, comes up with a list of words for new words of the year. This year, the list is full of social […]
[…] Here’s a list of other potential words…what would have been your pick? […]
[…] More here Posted in Dictionary | Trackback | del.icio.us | Top Of Page […]
[…] comment thread of the Oxford University Press blog where the lexicographers have announced their Word of the Year: “Unfriend” unfriend – verb – To remove someone as a ‘friend’ on a social […]
[…] is the Oxford Word of the Year 2009 and it features on the OUP Blog. There is a discussion from readers about why the word is “unfriend” rather than […]
[…] find a certain amount of irony in events where old school meets new media. Take, for example, Oxford Dictionary’s choice for its word of the year for 2009: Unfriend – to remove someone from your list on a social network like Facebook or MySpace. Most […]
While I can understand why “Tea Party Patriots” may not like being referred to as Teabaggers, folks need to remember that the people at Oxford Press do not randomly pick these words or include them for insidious liberal political reasons. These are words that they have picked up based on significant use in the popular press. Oxford doesn’t make they news – they just report it.
[…] it be green? Recovery? Economy? No, yesterday the New Oxford American Dictionary announced its word of the year is “unfriend.” Defined as “verb – To remove someone as a […]
[…] Crowned by the New Oxford American Dictionary as Word of the Year, “unfriend” is attributed to the Facebook frenzy of people impulsively adding (and then deleting) friends. Burger King even created their own spin on “unfriending” this year with the “Whopper Sacrifice“. Other new additions under consideration included “intexicated” (distracted from texting while driving), “freemium“, and “funemployed. The list highlights today’s modern world of social media, eco-awareness, Obama, celebrity obsessions, and popular culture. The lone word representing scientific discovery was “Ardi” the oldest known human skeleton, uncovered in the 1990s but announced in October of this year. If you’re curious about what other words were in the running for Word of the Year, check out the full list here. […]
[…] New Oxford American Dictionary has anointed “unfriend” as 2009’s Word of the Year. Um … OK. Beats “tramp […]
Past WOTYs have focused on serious and legitimate issues (global warming, high gas prices). The fact that this year’s term is about social media proves that social networking is serious and legitimate. And it’s here to stay. I’ve recently wrote on this topic: http://popculture2point0.wordpress.com/ Let me know what you think!
[…] that social networking is a huge cultural force, the New Oxford American Dictionary has chosen ‘unfriend‘ as its 2009 Word of the Year (WOTY). To unfriend means to remove […]
Chris said :As for all the posters complaining about ‘teabagger’ and even going so far as to say it somehow has the same negative meaning as a racial epitaph, @Buck Turgidson is correct. The term wasn’t used by other media outlets until after weeks of constant usage by organizers and Fox News correspondents. As usual you are now trying to rewrite history.
You’ll never get a job as a fact-checker. The term was not used constantly by organizers. A couple of lone placard holders at Tea Parties inspired lefties in the MSM to run with the smear. Read through these links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_Party_protests#Origins_of_Teabagging
http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2009/04/14/teabagging_guide/
Wow, a lot of upset teabaggers out there, it looks like. Equating that word with the n word is very melodramatic and quite a stretch. And the fact that many of you seem to think Oxford invented the word is more than a little unfortunate.
[…] In addition to the words mentioned above, other words considered for WOTY, including a slew of Obamaisms, can be found at Oxford University Press. […]
[…] is the Oxford English Dictionary’s 2009 Word of the Year. Check the entry: unfriend – verb – To remove someone as a ‘friend’ on a social […]
Very mature by Michael. Especially considering the links which disprove his and MC Brennan’s bile are in the comment right above his.
What disgusting hateful invective that these people chose to try to propagate.
You guys can get as huffy as you want about the word teabagger. We all know its crude original definition. But this genie is not going to be stuffed back into the bottle. Members of the so-called “Tea Party” are now and ever shall be referred to as teabaggers and there is not one thing you can do about it. Nothing besides whine and cry that is. Of course, you can call the Commander in Chief and President of our nation any number of vile names, from Hitler to the Anti-Christ, and that is all fine and dandy with you. You can dish it out, but you can’t take it.
[…] New Oxford American Dictionary has announced its Word of the Year: unfriend. Also announced were 2009’s Notable Word Clusters, the majority of which have to […]
[…] From the Oxford blog: […]
[…] New Oxford English Dictionary anunciou a sua palavra do ano de 2009, considerada como tendo um potencial de longevidade e sendo o seu significado claramente […]
[…] in case you haven’t heard, has officially announced “unfriend” — as in, “I’m going to unfriend you now, you total […]
[…] The official news release, for anyone actually interested, can be found at unfriend. […]
The editors at Oxford University Press are either tragically unhip or blatantly partisan with their inclusion of the derogatory, offensive and sexually graphic term “teabaggers” as a synonym for average citizens who choose to exercise their First Amendment right to protest government (over)spending.
Who cares if the word is popular with a certain segment of society (i.e., far-left Obama supporters)? Does Oxford also intend to legitimize disparaging terms that are currently popular with the far right, including Obammunism, Kenyan-in-Chief, Marxist Vineyard, President TelePrompTer, and ObaMao?
(Come to think of it, it’s funny how “birther” made the list but not “truther,” a conspiratorial belief system that cost Van Jones his job with the Obama administration.)
Come on, Oxford — as they say in sports, “Call it both ways, ref!”
[…] New Oxford American Dictionary’s Word of the Year is “unfriend,” which is defined as: “to remove someone as a ‘friend’ on a […]
[…] Unfriend Officially Added to Dictionary 2009 November 17 tags: Words, Unfriend, Vocabulary, Dictionary, Oxford Dictionary by jaycruz Oxford Word of the Year […]
Sums up my entire Facebook experience — I ‘unfriended’ all of my FB friends a couple of years ago because it was just so ridiculous to me. And they weren’t all that ‘friendly’ to begin with so I didn’t see the point…
To Donna,
Where have you been for the last 8 years?
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/017/226breoa.asp
The reasoning behind “unfriend” as Word of the year is based on a new usage of friend as a verb rather than as an adjective. Not! It is binary IT jargon, like do undo; compile decompile; upload download; and close to befriend unfriend. The lexy is sexy because this IT jargon has entered the common venacular through the ubiquitous uptake of social networking with the variant defriend. Hmmm. Bloggers rule.
[…] take a look at the runner ups, go here. Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)’Unfriend’ Named Word of the […]
[…] Check out Oxfords explanation here. […]
[…] Hashtag, funemployed, and teabagger also considered, but losers. […]
[…] Oxford English Dictionary (slogan: “dictionary.com for rich people”) just picked its Word of the Year: “Unfriend.” You may know this word because it’s almost like […]
[…] • Oxford Word of the Year 2009: Unfriend […]
[…] 2009 Word of the Year, Facebook Yesterday the New Oxford American Dictionary announced on its blog the 2009 Word of the Year. Drumroll…………it is “Unfriend”. As in […]
Had to double-check. It *is* the Oxford *American* dictionary…
Would you unfriend a choice mom with a tramp stamp from a green-state ecotown who was intexicated and sexting while driving to a brown-state rally of birther teabaggers concerned about death panels because that was her idea of being funemployed after losing her job at a zombie bank? Or would you merely think, oh, she should spend more time on her netbook hacking paywalls to fremium sites about delebs? Me, I’d think she has lex-appeal and is just soooooo Ardi#.
I have not heard ‘defriend’ I have heard, use, and do the act of ‘unfriending’. I use FB and SL (SecondLife) and unfriend is the term my circle of acquaintances use. I am sure un or de depends largely on location and social circle.
On another note.. I have heard and used the term tramp stamp since at least the mid 90’s. We (my circle of friends) did not apply it only to a lower back tattoo however. We applied it to any visible tat showing on a female… especially if the female was already otherwise trampy or trashy.
[…] what you think about New Oxford American Dictionary 2009 Word of the Year in the comments. [via OUP] Click Me To ReTweet This […]
Tea bags weren’t invented until the early 1900’s so the argument that “teabaggers” were around during the American revolution is ludicrous.
It is one thing to openly make fun of and criticize someone who has put themselves into the public spotlight but to demean a whole group of private citizens because one does not agree with their politics is both childish and counter productive.
I always find it odd that those on the left (and many on the right) choose to personally attack those that disagree with them and will redouble the personal attack when facts are brought into the discussion.
[…] the honor included hashtag, sexting, and paywall, all of which are unfamiliar to my spellchecker. Link -via […]
Sexting is never used by people who actually engage in the act of sending raunchy pics to each other. It is a term used by teens when deriding adults for the adoption of this media-generated word.
[…] Unfriend was the New Oxford American Dictionary Word of the Year for 2009. […]
[…] New Oxford American Dictionary word of the year for 2009 is “Unfriend,” defined as “To remove someone as a ‘friend’ on a […]
Well, if you find the derogatory word “teabagger” to be a candidate (even based on faulty information), perhaps you will consider the following:
Obama licker: a member of the media that will only report positive stories about Obama or omit negative ones, despite their newsworthiness.
Obamaroid: one who blindly follows Obama, believing his promises despite repeated failures to honor same.
[…] New Oxford American Dictionary has selected the word “Unfriend” which refers to people getting rid of a ‘friend’ on a social […]
Is this really necessary?
[…] I was, as I correctly noted, unfriended. […]
[…] about how bad their life is. But now it is entering into the realm of our lexicon. On Monday, the Oxford University Press announced its word of the year. Drum roll please…. Every year the New Oxford American Dictionary […]
[…] 18, 2009 at 03:36 (27676430) Unfriend won for best word of 2009 beating out words intexticated, sexting,freemium and trampstamp among […]
[…] further ado, as proclaimed at the OUP Blog, the 2009 Word of the Year […]
If conservatives didn’t have a hissy-fit every time teabagging is used liberals would have gotten over it by now and everybody else would be wondering what the joke was. Now everybody knows what it means. That’s what happens when you’re a whiner.
Anyway, I’d vote for intexticated, even though I never heard it before.
I’ve never heard of “unfriend” before. Maybe we use “defriend” more in Australia… and sounds much better frankly.
[…] Oxford Word of the Year 2009: Unfriend : OUPblog (tags: words facebook language socialnetworking 2009 dictionary social socialmedia oxford) […]
[…] Better stop defriending people… Oxford Word of the Year 2009: Unfriend : OUPblog *jean-luc […]
[…] The announcement in Oxford University Press USA’s blog quoted Christine Lindberg, Senior Lexicographer for Oxford’s US dictionary programme as saying: “It has both currency and potential longevity.” […]
[…] go away, but just the opposite seems to have happened. Today the New Oxford American Dictionary announced its 2009 word of the year, unfriend, and sure enough, there on the list of runner-up words was […]
[…] this week Oxford University Press declared “unfriend” its word of the year. This got me thinking… now that we are entering an era of media reforestation what common […]
[…] ??????????????? you ask. Well, read their release – 2009 Word of the Year […]
[…] often can one use nineteen new words in one short space? In tribute to Oxford’s announcement of this year’s Word of the Year (and runners-up), I offer this (really quite awful) short […]
[…] https://blog.oup.com/2009/11/unfriend/ November 17th, 2009 | Tags: Unfriend | Category: Richfield Campus of Minnesota School of Business | Leave a comment […]
[…] Dr. Irene S. Levine: Unfriend: Not a simple verb by any means The New Oxford American Dictionary chose the verb “unfriend” as its 2009 Word of the Year (WOTY) and defined it this way: “to remove someone as a ‘friend’ on a social networking site such as Facebook.” The word “has both currency and potential longevity,” explained Christine Lindberg, Oxford’s senior lexicographer on the OUP Blog. […]
[…] New Oxford American Dictionary has announced that its word of the year is “unfriend,” as in: “After he clubbed my nan with a banjo, I unfriended him on […]
@ Upon further review
Call it both ways? They also included “death panels,” a term which is pretty clearly one favored only by far-righters.
Stop playing the victim.
So, Oxford University Press is just playing partisan politics. It’s okay to use a sexual term to slur conservatives, but not liberals.
I see people are still saying that Tea Party organizers started using the term (for weeks?) before the media and elected Democrats started pushing the slur. Again I ask… source?
think Teabagger means entirely something different today…..
2009; Fox News Promoted Protest for Lobbiest like Freedom Works
[…] list – has taken the honors as the New Oxford American Dictionary’s “word of the year“. It beat, among others, ‘intexticated’ (being distracted because you’re […]
[…] 懦夫 写道 “互联网社交词汇“unfriend”(直译“非友”)击败2009年美国众多技术、经济、政治和时事新兴词语，当选为《新牛津美语辞典》年度词汇。“Unfriend”的词性被定义为动词，即把网络社交名单里的某“好友”清除，加入黑名单。高级语言专家评价说：“这个词(unfriend)既是流行的，又有长期的使用价值。” […]
[…] The New Oxford American Dictionary chose the verb “unfriend” as its 2009 Word of the Year (WOTY) and defined it this way: “to remove someone as a ‘friend’ on a social networking site such as Facebook.” The word “has both currency and potential longevity,” explained Christine Lindberg, Oxford’s senior lexicographer on the OUP Blog. […]
[…] The New Oxford American Dictionary chose the verb “unfriend” as its 2009 Word of the Year (WOTY) and defined it this way: “to remove someone as a ‘friend’ on a social networking site such as Facebook.” The word “has both currency and potential longevity,” explained Christine Lindberg, Oxford’s senior lexicographer on the OUP Blog. […]
[…] Oxford University Press je proglasio unfriend za riječ […]
[…] was voted Oxford English Dictionary’s 2009 Word of the Year. I’m giving that a big fat “Dislike button.” Possibly related posts: […]
[…] argument rages on despite the fact that the winner has been declared–The New Oxford American Dictionary announced its Word of the Year this week and the winner was from the world of technology and new media rather than topics like […]
[…] but after reading yesterday’s release from the Oxford University Press, it’s warranted. The release announced Oxford’s coveted Word of the Year to be none other than the now ubiquitous […]
[…] • Unfriend is Oxford Word of the Year for 2009 # […]
[…] up dorky neologisms to represent how “2.0″ we all are? The venerable Oxford Dictionary includes “unfriend” in its entries na dmakes it “Word of the Year”; I guess after having been intoxicated […]
[…] New Oxford American Dictionary tiene como costumbre, todos los años por estar fechas, elegir la Palabra del Año (evidentemente, […]
[…] Hier gefunden: bernerzeitung.ch, oupblog […]
[…] Nevermind your 300 million members, Facebook. You have arrived after inspiring this year’s winner: unfriend. […]
Maddie wrote:
“If conservatives didn’t have a hissy-fit every time teabagging is used liberals would have gotten over it by now and everybody else would be wondering what the joke was. Now everybody knows what it means. That’s what happens when you’re a whiner.”
___________________________
*** That’s like saying, “Gee, if African-Americans didn’t keep whining about the N-word, bigots would have stopped using it by now.”
The point is, it doesn’t matter whether complaining about a word gives its users a thrill up their collective leg.
Some words are simply crude and offensive, especially when applied to law-abiding Americans whose greatest “sin” is protesting government policies that they don’t agree with (ooh, isn’t freedom of speech a scary concept to those who crave power?).
If you still don’t get my point, maybe you would if conservatives started referring to female Bill Clinton supporters as “cigar stuffers” or “stainers.”
[…] Oxford’s US dictionary program, says that the word has “real lex-appeal” and explains some more in their announcement. It’s not a particularly wonderful word to say as in, say my own personal favourite word, […]
[…] Oxford American Dictionary then unveiled its WOTY: ‘unfriend’. Other words (and word clusters) contending the 2009 title reflect topics that dominated global headlines in 2009: technology, economy and, of course, […]
My two cents…I have never heard the word “unfriend”. I “defriend” people on facebook.
[…] See the other words up for the honorable distinction of being this year’s New Oxford English Dictionary word of the year. We wish they’d gone with “funemployed,” but what are you gonna do? Share and Enjoy: […]
[…] https://blog.oup.com/2009/11/unfriend/ […]
[…] I'm celebrating by unfriending some people right now! – Link […]
[…] the OED: One Man, One Year, 21,730 Pages and a frequent OUPblog contributor. In light of our Word of the Year 2009 announcement (WOTY) Ammon has taken a closer look at how WOTY is chosen. In the post below he […]
[…] the good folks at New Oxford American Dictionary have once again picked their Word of the Year. And once again they have managed to be lame about it. This year’s word is […]
Interesting that “defriend” scores fewer Ghits (Google hits) than “unfriend.” It also has a lower Yhit (Yahoo hit) and Bhit (Bing hit – as opposed to a ‘bong hit, which is very different).
Some months back, the UK’s Daily Telegraph was speculating on the candidates for the one millionth English word, and up there was”defriend,” not “unfriend.” The winner turned out to be the arguably unwordy “Web 2.0.”
There may be a geographical element to the use. Perhaps certain countries are more prone to defriend than unfriend; or perhaps certain regions within a country have a preference.
Whatever the numbers say, I’ll stick to defriending – unfriendly as that may seem.
[…] New Oxford American Dictionary vient de désigner le mot de l’année […]
[…] you for telling lies”, you might think. But wait a minute, it’s true, check out The New Oxford American Dictionary if you don’t believe me. They are actually going to add it as Word Of The […]
[…] is in Like every year, the New Oxford American Dictionary announces the Word of the year in November, and this year the honour goes to […]
Umm, I believe the term is actually “de-friend”
I’ve never heard anyone use “unfriend”
If it’s any consolation to those (perhaps ridiculously?) offended by the term “teabagger”….at least you’re considered the one doing the teabagging rather than the one being teabagged (“teabaggee?”).
I’m just saying if you’re that sensative about the issue, maybe this little victory will help you turn that frown upsidedown!
[…] unfriend. Leave a Comment So, apparently people are freaking out a little bit that unfriend is the 2009 Oxford Word of the Year. I suppose that it is a little disappointing that we have to refer to Facebook in order to find new […]
I’ve been active on social networking sites since long before they were called social networking sites (started off on LiveJournal in 2000) and I’ve used both ‘defriend’ and ‘unfriend’, but in different contexts. I would say ‘defriend’ when I do it to someone else, but ‘unfriend’ if I’m talking about someone doing it to me or a third party.
For example: ‘I had to defriend him, he was trolling my journal’ as opposed to: ‘then seven other people unfriended me, the bastards!’
I would (and have) also use the expression ‘remove from my flist,’ just to be wordy about it.
[…] to the Oxford University Press blog (which in itself is a quagmire), “unfriend” is the 2009 Word of the Year. Stiff […]
“By and large the literature of a democracy will never exhibit the order, regularity, skill, and art characteristic of aristocratic literature; formal qualities will be neglected or despised. The style will often be incorrect, overburdened, and loose, and almost always strong and bold. Writers will be more anxious to work quickly than to perfect details. Short works will be commoner than long books…. There will be a rude and untutored vigor of thought with great variety and singular fecundity.”
– Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America (1840)
“The genius of democracies is seen not only in the great number of new words introduced but even more in the new ideas they express.”
– Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America (1840)
[…] Nevermind your 300 million members, Facebook. You have arrived after inspiring this year’s winner: unfriend. […]
[…] Oxford Word of the Year 2009: Unfriend (OUPblog) […]
Um…the word is “defriend”, not “unfriend”. You defriend someone on facebook…I have never heard a single person say “I unfriended someone.” Secondly…tea-bagging is not a reference to protesting Obama’s tax policies. It’s the derogatorism for the act of putting one’s own testicles in someones mouth. CNN perpetuated this term as an insult to these people…the word should not be added…unless of course the correct definition is going to be added.
It’s “defriend” and it’s so 2006…
You all need to get a life.
Using the term teabagger in regard to Obama’s stimulus package is more than a little suggestive.
And tea-baggers? It refers to participants in a sex act. It was satirically used to describe participants in anti-tax “tea parties” because it was making fun of these people (who were mostly unaware of the meaning.) It’s alternate meaning would only be used tongue in cheek or by an ignorant right winger who thinks it is a great name.
[…] The New Oxford American Dictionary chose the verb “unfriend” as its 2009 Word of the Year (WOTY) and defined it this way: “to remove someone as a ‘friend’ on a social networking site such as Facebook.” The word “has both currency and potential longevity,” explained Christine Lindberg, Oxford’s senior lexicographer on the OUP Blog. […]
[…] Unfriend was the New Oxford American Dictionary Word of the Year for 2009. […]
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Milton Ramirez, Tracey Jones. Tracey Jones said: RT @tonnet: Which Is the Oxford Word of the Year 2009? – http://is.gd/4YpuT […]
[…] of the universe. The New Oxford American Dictionary has picked the verb “unfriend” as its 2009 Word of the Year. – as in to remove someone as a “friend” from Facebook. Though ardent facebookers […]
[…] blogue do New Oxford American Dictionary chama-se ainda a atenção para palavras compostas a partir de […]
[…] November 19, 2009 by garydenness The English language is, always has been and always will be in a constant state of flux and evolution. Which is why the major dictionaries all have their annual Word of the Year unveiling. They showcase the new words that have entered common vocabulary over the last twelve months. This year the Word of the Year according to the New American Oxford Dictionary is ‘unfriend’. It is a verb, so the full form would be ‘to unfriend’, which occurs when you delete a friend from your account on a social network site. It’s gained particularly high use as a word on Facebook. The image below shows the other contenders who eventually lost out to ‘unfriend’. You can check out all the meanings for each word by clicking here. […]
[…] comes the question of whether to defriend (or, according to Oxford, “unfriend,” but I’ll always be a […]
[…] Not I, at least until I found The Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential’s link to my post about the New American Tea Party. Awwww! Beltway Confidential is finding her blog colleagues all shy and bashful for not noting earlier this week that “teabagger” was among the runners-up for this year’s New Oxford American Dictionary’s 2009 Word of the Year. […]
[…] year’s winner is a word that everyone who frequents social media sites is familiar with – unfriend. That word has been popularized through Facebook where your followers are friends and any of those […]
[…] Oxford Word of the Year is “unfriend” To remove someone as a ‘friend’ on a social networking site such as […]
[…] Year Earlier this week, the New Oxford American Dictionary unveiled "unfriend" as the 2009 Word of the Year, providing the following definition and application: unfriend – verb – To remove someone as a […]
[…] New Oxford American Dictionary has chosen ‘unfriend’ as its word of the year. To ‘unfriend’ means to remove someone from […]
[…] OUP blog USA https://blog.oup.com/2009/11/unfriend/ […]
[…] är inte år 2009 slut, men New Oxford American Dictionary har redan utsett årets ord: “unfriend”, vilket betyder att man tar bort en vän på exempelvis Facebook. Det har skapat en debatt kring […]
[…] the OUP blog explains “unfriend” means “to remove someone as a ‘friend’ on a social […]
[…] de amigos y cuyo significado solo se podía encontrar definido en sitios como Urban Dictionary ya es un término oficial para el NOAD. Fue seleccionado de una lista de palabras entre las cuales encontramos: hashtag, netbook, paywall, […]
[…] said Christine Lindberg, senior lexicographer for Oxford’s US dictionary program. In a blog post announcing the selection, Lindberg also said the word “has both currency and potential […]
[…] de amigos y cuyo significado solo se podía encontrar definido en sitios como Urban Dictionary ya es un término oficial para el NOAD. Fue seleccionado de una lista de palabras entre las cuales encontramos: hashtag, netbook, paywall, […]
[…] 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 […]
[…] 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 […]
[…] 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 […]
[…] la “Word of the year 2009” è il neologismo unfriend*, ti chiedi se tutta questa tecnologia stia andando nel verso […]
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Betsey Dalbeck, Networking Times. Networking Times said: New Oxford American Dictionary selects Word of the Year 2009 http://tr.im/FiTi other notable words: twitterhea, sexting, obamanation etc. […]
[…] de amigos y cuyo significado solo se podía encontrar definido en sitios como Urban Dictionary ya es un término oficial para el NOAD. Fue seleccionado de una lista de palabras entre las cuales encontramos: hashtag, netbook, paywall, […]
[…] you haven’t already heard, unfriend is the New Oxford American Dictionary Word of the Year. In honor of this announcement, I surveyed […]
[…] “they dont see the point of.” I even have friends who have started to UNFRIEND (which is now an official word, and Oxford’s 2009 word of the year) people that they merely met once or had brief contact with and do not consider them close friends […]
i love this brilliant word and i think it will be successfully word for ever …..
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 https://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 […]
[…] https://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 […]
[…] https://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 […]
[…] telling the editor of this space what you think needs to change on TFP for you (or someone you have unfriended) to visit and to participate more frequently. (3) In the case of either 1 or 2 above, you provide […]
[…] 2009 by Shaun Weston The forward-thinking lexicographers of Oxford Dictionary recently announced the success of ‘unfriend’ as its Word of the Year 2009. How apt considering the successful uptake of social networking in our […]
news 22 Nov 2009 When the Oxford English Dictionary acknowledges some word, you know that the situation that created that word has some force.
[…] More here Read Comments (0) […]
@Karl: Thanks for bringing up the dual root thing with “un-” but in the case of “unfriend” I’m not sure it matters too much. The gloss appears to point to the word being used primarily as a verb and the general meaning of “taking a friend away” seems implicit – irrespective of where the “un-” comes from. As some pointed out, in the sense of “opposite,” the word “unfriendly” is more apposite ;) Otherwise it is, as you elegantly remind folks, more reversative.
[…] probably thousands of times a minute even now. The unfriending (which, by the way, was pronounced Top Word of 2009 by the Oxford New American Dictionary, and is now accepted as a verb), while less common, is an […]
You left out OBAMASESSION…to define my obsession with obama
[…] finally happened: social media has risen to the top of our everyday terminology. The New Oxford American Dictionary just announced “unfriend” as its 2009 Word of the Year. That’s right: unfriend (verb) […]
[…] Oxford’s recent announcement of its Word of the Year (unfriend), Merriam-Webster has revealed it […]
[…] New Oxford American Dictionary announced today on its blog that the 2009 Word Of The Year is “unfriend.” Unfriend – verb – To remove someone as a […]
[…] Perhaps in a sign of how the plague of social media has numbed us all to the value of legitimate human connections, the New Oxford American Dictionary has picked the verb “unfriend,” or “to remove someone as a ‘friend’ on a social networking site such as Facebook,” as its 2009 Word of the Year. […]
Doubtless and definitely “DEfriend”
[…] the crowning of the word “unfriend” as the New Oxford American Dictionary’s word of the year, it got us at Nine Point Ten thinking […]
[…] the good folks at the New Oxford American Dictionary named “unfriend” its word of the year earlier this week, they likely had no idea they’d initiated the fiercest lexicographical […]
This word “unfriend” have been getting very popular and commonly used in the social networking websites. I decided to unfriend a few people in my facebook today, because I don’t think I really know them :-)
[…] It’s Oxford’s 2009 word of the year. On Oxford’s OUPblog, Senior Lexicographer Christine Lindberg explains, “In the online social networking context, […]
[…] sa version française comme: « supprimer la connexion avec quelqu’un« . Le dictionnaire Oxford a aussi mis de l’avant les mots Hashtag (qui désigne sur Twitter le signe # ajouté avant un […]
[…] thinks that the ‘word of the year’ being unfriend is a bit dull. If you’re going down the road of New Digital Hyped Bang on […]
[…] has been awarded the Oxford word of the year 2009. You can see many people asking in forums in Facebook asking ‘How do i unfriend […]
Rather than “unfriend”, “defriend” definitely has a nicer ring, “befriend”/”defriend”!!!
My vote goes to “tramp stamp” if I have to choose from that list above.
[…] 29, 2009 Filed under: smart stuff — Meg @ 11:59 pm Tags: linguistics, WOTH Each year the New Oxford American Dictionary chooses a new word of the year. The word is something that symbolizes the happenings, or social […]
Heavens to Betsy!! What if “soda” were the word of the year? Some of us would be saying, “Well this term *actually* refers to ‘several different, but similar, sodium carbonates,'” and the rest would be debating whether the correct term was “soda” or “pop.”
Or what if the word was “reiterate?” How many people would like to show off how intellectual they were for that one?
I’m with the curmudgeons.
[…] Twitterisms et Obamarisms ont été recencés sur le OUPBlog de l’Oxford University Press. Voici les choses à mettre dans votre panier d’achat avant d’aller payer avec les sous d’une […]
[…] Λέξεις Οι λέξεις της χρονιάς σύμφωνα με το Global Language Monitor και σύμφωνα με το New Oxford American Dictionary. […]
[…] oplevelser og fotos med dem – men kun deltage i de fora, der giver reel værdi for os. ’Unfriend’ blev valgt til årets nye ord i 2009 af New Oxford American Dictionary, og i 2010 vil vi slette […]
My personal favorite:
Kinkorati (Kink’orati) = The New York and Los Angeles types who dabble in silk scarves and ropes in the bedroom.
[…] jr.), se pare ca multe s-au schimbat de atunci. Google, Facebook si Twitter sunt la putere, iar Oxford Dictionary a nominalizat unfriend drept cuvantul anului. Cele mai multe neologisme “de grup” au ca […]
[…] for the New Oxford American Dictionary 2009 Word of the Year? Check out the list below. Source: Oxford University Press Blog. Share and […]
[…] words of 2009 01Dec09 The Oxford English Dictionary has named unfriend its word of the year, beating out sexting (the sending of sexually explicit text messages), […]
[…] maand wees de New Oxford American Dictionary bijvoorbeeld als Word of the Year 2009 aan: unfriend. (Je “ontvriendt” iemand als je ze schrapt als “vriend” op een netwerkwebsite als Facebook […]
[…] “Twitter” was the fastest rising Google search in 2009 and made Google’s global list for the first time ever. (Twitter was also named the word of the year by the Global Language Monitor. The Facebook-inspired term “unfriend” was Oxford English Dictionary’s choice.) […]
Re: Teabaggers: A tempest in the resting place of the Dormouse. An unfriendly bunch, however, if you attend one of their gatherings [brewings?] and are not of their political and evangelical persuasion. They can be quite nasty and often bring firearms to meetings. One wonders why.
MadHatter
[…] Word of the Year selections by New Oxford American Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, and other word watchers, The Global Language Monitor has announced its Top Word […]
[…] experiences in PNW as oral history”—the next thing I would do is to suggest I might “unfriend” […]
[…] Twitter has become the great example of the realistic social networking next step in that there is nothing beyond the 140 characters that can be shared. It is the bare bones of the information and possibly a link to a new site, in some ways confirming Pew’s findings that although people still prefer to connect in a face-to-face fashion, there is a growing realization that social networking is effective for exactly what it suggests rather than igniting a more close and meaningful friendship connection with others. Not necessarily knowing your contacts very well on Twitter allows a certain openness that is crucial to, perhaps, Twitter’s greatest reward, serendipitous discovery – the adjustment of this feature caused an uproar on the microblogging site earlier in the year. With more young people using intentional misspellings with leetspeak or lolspeak even as far as using exclamation marks with a few number 1s purposefully inserted when ending the group (!!!!11), indicating an excitedness that is usually conveyed with such haphazard typing mistakes, it could be suggested that there is possibly an increasing awareness of the internet’s impact upon society as digital becomes a less separate reality for young people. It is perhaps no coincidence then that the New Oxford American Dictionary has named ‘Unfriend’ as its word of 2009. […]
Hahaha, wow. How come as soon as it comes to politics, everyone goes loopy? Goodness. Petty insults because of someone’s beliefs? People can protest what they want, why get bent out of shape because they want to carry signs and shout chants? And for the sign-carriers; why care if some snide wanker wants to show how low he can be by using public media to pay a backhanded insult to your cause? Don’t let them get a rise out of you; instead ask yourself if you’ve ever used derogatory language about someone else because of their political affiliations, and think about how you could have expressed yourself more constructively, and ultimately more persuasively.
Language is not static. It changes diachronicaly and synchronicaly in response to the cultural context. The Urban Dictionary’s definition of “teabagger” has changed since last time I looked up the same term earlier this year. Prescriptively, the word has a derogatory sexual connotation. Descriptively, it’s taken on a new meaning associated with politics. If/as more people start to favor the latter meaning, the word will take on a different meaning. Language change is fascinating!
Quote: “… As in, ‘I decided to unfriend my roommate on Facebook after we had a fight.’…”
UNFRIEND: Does that include Murdering your Roommate?
Retrieved by Pat Darnell and Amanda Knox
moopigwisdom.blogspot.com
Chris said :As for all the posters complaining about ‘teabagger’ and even going so far as to say it somehow has the same negative meaning as a racial epitaph, @Buck Turgidson is correct. The term wasn’t used by other media outlets until after weeks of constant usage by organizers and Fox News correspondents. As usual you are now trying to rewrite history.
You’ll never get a job as a fact-checker. The term was not used constantly by organizers. A couple of lone placard holders at Tea Parties inspired lefties in the MSM to run with the smear. Read through these links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_Party_protests#Origins_of_Teabagging
hezz heaa
Twitter” was the fastest rising Google search in 2009 and made Google’s global list for the first time ever. (Twitter was also named the word of the year by the Global Language Monitor. The Facebook-inspired term “unfriend” was Oxford English Dictionary’s cho
itz great
The irate comments, which are equally priceless, conveniently overlook the fact that the movement’s leaders (including its cheerful advocate Fox News) popularized the use of the term “teabagger” to describe Tea Party participants–at least before they figured out it had a second meaning. Also, it’s incorrect to say that “teabagging”–the real one–is by definition a negative act. Like most sexual acts it can be a source of delight or revulsion, depending on the personal tastes of the participants. Instructions are available online, America. Mazel Tov.
Also, is Anderson Cooper openly gay? Openly adorable, sure, but I believe I missed his formal announcement on the matter. Wolf Blitzer’s beard is keeping a suspiciously coy silence as we
There is a massive change underway in the mobile media market as it becomes unshackled from the operators’ portals that have dominated it for a decade, all without having made any significant inroads into the content use of mobile users. The new capped data packages, fuelled by further competition, will see a total revamp of the mobile media market. It will no longer be based on portals but on direct services by content and services providers via open source phones and mobile-friendly Internet-based services. The next step is the continued emergence of m-commerce and in particular m-payment services.
[…] there you go. Have a look on the OUP Blog for a bit more info, i’m not entirely sold on the word myself but then they are the […]
[…] By christophergeorge The Oxford University Press word of the year for 2009 is […]
You crazy americans….it’s funny the things you’ll fight about.
I like being your neighbor, you guys are entertaining
[…] 3 תגובות אוהבים לסתום חורים ברשת? הצטרפו ל-RSS, לטוויטר או לדף הפייסבוק שלנו. אפשר גם במייל.אלה דברי הימים של הרשתות החברתיות: בראשית היו פייסבוק, מייספייס, ו"חבר’ה" – ששבו את ליבם של כל אלה שהתגעגעו לימי הזוהר של התיכון, היסודי והגנון. המשותף לכולן: הן חיברו אנשים זה לזה על בסיס "חברות". עם הזמן, יש לציין, המושג "חברות" הפך נזיל יותר, כש"חברות" ברשת חברתית נושאת עמה בדרך-כלל עצימות נמוכה יותר (ע"ע חבר פייסבוק), עד שהשנה המילה "אנפרינד" ("להפוך מישהו ל’לא-חבר’") הוכרזה כמילת השנה של אוקספורד. […]
At the Internet Governance Forum in Sharm El Sheikh this week, there was a conversation on social networking data. Someone made the point that there are several different types of data, and it would be useful to separate them. This is my taxonomy of social networking data.
I have been chucklin’ about the use of the teabagging expression ever since the dumb republicans started using it to describe their movement. For my money, they not only deserve the name they pretty much embody it.
[…] https://blog.oup.com/2009/11/unfriend/ […]
[…] are heaps more here. I can imagine when Twitter, Facebook, social networks and so on are left behind by the amazing […]
[…] technique is “unfriending”, which was the New Oxford American Dictionary’sWord of the Year for 2009 (actually it was […]
[…] technique is “unfriending”, which was the New Oxford American Dictionary’sWord of the Year for 2009 (actually it was […]
[…] Oxford Word of the Year for 2009 is […]
[…] New Oxford American Dictionary announced its Word of the Year today and like everyone else, the organization is keeping an eye on the internet. Its selection? […]
[…] New Oxford American Dictionary has chosen ‘unfriend’ as its word of the year. To ‘unfriend’ means to remove someone from […]
[…] scorn on Oxford University Press for daring to include the word on their own words-of-the-year list without indicating that it was usually seen as […]
[…] creatively however, the New Oxford American Dictionary 2009 Word of the Year was announced as 'unfriend'. They also gave a special mention to 'deleb' [a dead celebrity] and […]
[…] Engels: unfriend (‘ontvrienden’) volgens New Oxford American Dictionary ophttps://blog.oup.com/2009/11/unfriend […]
[…] why am I saying all this when the nomination of unfriend is clearly marked as the work of the Oxford American dictionary and “Oxford’s U.S. dictionary program”? Because […]
[…] Read the entire article here. […]
I love how the same leftists who snicker like schoolboys when they hear the word “teabagger” — and smugly claim that Tea Party protesters should just get over it — are often careful to use terms like “undocumented” instead of “illegal” and “progressive” instead of “liberal” … and squealed like Ned Beatty when conservative commentators made a point of saying, “Barack HUSSEIN Obama” during the 2008 presidential campaign.
Yeah, offensive words don’t matter at all, do they — as long as they’re aimed at someone you don’t agree with!
[…] more I think about it, the more I like it. I think you should unfriend me even though my spell checker doesn’t recognize the word […]
[…] New Oxford American Dictionary announced their word of the year, “unfriend.” Webster’s New World Dictionary went with “distracted driving.” Here’s my list of the quintessential words of 2009: […]
The Swedes have two words for “enemy”: “fiende” and “ovän”.The word “ovän” consists of “o-” [u:], which is the exact equivalent of “un-” in English. The word “vän” [ven] is the translation of the English word for “friend”.
Maybe that lies at the origin of this new English verb ” to unfriend” !
[…] "Unfriend" became the word of the year 2009, according to Oxford University Press USA. Oxford Word of the Year 2009: Unfriend : OUPblog Btw. my favorite on the list is "deleb", which is death […]
[…] même que les mots de l’année des éditeurs du dictionnaire Merriam-Webster (to admonish) et d’Oxford University Press USA (to […]
[…] (the author) and I got into an argument on one of his blogs (I forget which one), he has since unfriended me. So no more traffic from that source—this is no doubt a contributing cause to the downturn in […]
[…] 31, 2009 by Wendy Peters Hashtags. They’ve made the list for 2009 word of the year from Oxford Dictionary. Okay, well individual hashtags have not, but as a term they sure have. […]
[…] The New Oxford American Dictionary […]
I’m stunned. In the first paragraph, you state:
” . . .the ongoing conversation it sparks is always a lot of fun . . .” Are you to sloven to define or say what “a lot” is? I recommend you ban the phrase “a lot”, which some writers now spell as “alot”, thinking it’s acceptable. If it’s always a lot of fun, then it’s got to be most unique!
[…] selection for Person of the Year was an individual no one was too happy about. The New Oxford American Dictionary’s word of the year was not a word associated with happiness, but as per usual, was very […]
[…] I mean unfriend (*cringe*). The term “unfriend” by the way, made its way to be the 2009 Oxford Word of the Year. unfriend – verb – To remove someone as a ‘friend’ on a social networking site such as […]
[…] just passed. My word of the year is slightly different than the word ‘unfriend‘ which New Oxford American Dictionary decided on as word of the year 2009! It was pretty easy to find out. It has been all over the place throughout the year. It’s a […]
[…] Yet, I admit there are some twists and turns of the English language that give me shivers. From hearing ‘innit’ as a universal question tag in my East London neighbourhood (We’re friends, innit?) to reading the New Oxford American Dictionary’s Word of 2009 (the verb, to unfriend). […]
[…] Jump to Comments The Oxford English dictionary recently announced its new word of the year for 2009, unfriend. This was no doubt made popular by Facebook, where the act of “friending” and […]
[…] that our 2009 year in review would be the last post of the year but then I saw this today: Oxford Word of the Year is “Unfriend”. Now granted, this is the Oxford American Dictionary which is a little more liberal when it comes […]
[…] And guess what was 2009’s Word of the Year? […]
[…] University Press offices. So the New Oxford American Dictionary released their choice for the 2009 Word of the Year. The winner was UNFRIEND. And the debate on whether “unfriend” or […]
[…] And for what it’s worth, I heard that the term “unfriend” has been added to New Oxford American Dictionary and was THE Word of the Year in 2009. Read about it here. […]
[…] gave us personalized, real-time and caffeinated search results. Social media went mainstream, “unfriend” became the word of the year, Twitter eclipsed Google as “the” verb and everyone noticed […]
[…] Overigens was unfriend ook het woord van het jaar volgens de New Oxford American Dictionary. […]
[…] fascinating barometer of tech 17 Nov 2009 The New Oxford English Dictionary has announced that 2009’s Word of the Year is unfriend. While it is perhaps not used as broadly as the newly-verbed friend, the latter is […]
[…] their word of 2009 (even though the Oxford University Press already had already decided on ‘unfriend‘ — which are we to believe?!) Sexting failed to pick up the award for ‘most […]
[…] last month, the Oxford University Press’s 2009 Word of the Year is UNFRIEND (as in, “She hit on my boyfriend at the company Christmas party, so I had to […]
[…] their word of 2009 (even though the Oxford University Press already had already decided on ‘unfriend‘ — which are we to believe?!) Sexting failed to pick up the award for ‘most […]
[…] That’s the reason why “unfriend” is the “Oxford Word of the Year 2009“. […]
[…] New Oxford American Dictionary went for a word popularized by that other social media giant, and even provides a sentence using the […]
[…] geleden kwam Burger King met een geniaal leuke virale campagne: De Whopper Sacrifice Challenge: Unfriend 10 Facebook vrienden, krijg een gratis Whopper. Het mooie van deze campagne was dat het prachtig […]
[…] leenvertaling uit het Engels; daarin heet het defriend of unfriend. Die laatste variant werd het Oxford Word of the Year 2009. Want het woord heeft echt ‘lex-appeal’, aldus een lexicograaf van de uitgever. Het […]
Um, trampstamp, really? That word has been around for quite some time. I don’t know how it could have been even considered for word of the year when it was coined probably 5-10 years ago. Makes me really question your credibility. Have you been living under a rock?
What’s the big deal? unfriend; defriend mean the same thing to me. New Oxford American Dictionary you got to be kidding (Defriend) PLEASE!!!!
[…] come in and buy stuff. The only thing those businesses are likely to get their customers to do is unfriend […]
[…] The Oxford University Press (makers of the esteemed OED) has posted its Words of the Year list. […]
[…] this year the word “unfriend” became a legitimate part of the English language (See the Oxford University Press blog), and I’m sure we’ve all heard it at some point. Yes, my friends, Facebook (and other social […]
[…] Bad Economy–Bad New Words Whenever I see newly created words, I often think of Sherry’s recently invented word, funfaithful, because her contrived word is at least as good as these new economy words, which were discussed recently on the Oxford University Press USA blog: […]
[…] 3 Stages of Unfriending by Kay January 21, 2010, 10:17 AM by Bing Staffing | 0 Comments The newly announced "winner" of the Oxford American Dictionary word of 2009 is “unfriend.” […]
[…] behöver alltså inte unfrienda mig, […]
Unfriend doesn’t even make sense!The prefix un means not.but de means to remove.so it should be defriend!!!!
[…] Word of the Year 2009 to unfriend: To remove someone as a ‘friend’ on a social networking site such as Facebook. Source: Oxford […]
[…] 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. […]
[…] 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 https://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.
[…] I’ve done it lots of times. You’ve probably done it as well. Maybe you’ve even done it to me. People rarely own up to it, but it happens all time. That’s why it’s the New Oxford American Dictionary word of the year: “unfriend.” […]
[…] from organizations like the American Dialect Society, The Global Language Monitor, and the New Oxford American Dictionary. At the very same time, however, I find myself growing ever more appreciative of words that I come […]
[…] came across this article about how the world unfriend has become the word of the year according to oxford. What a great […]
[…] defriend v. another term for unfriend. […]
[…] defriend v. another term for unfriend. […]
[…] defriend v. another term for unfriend. […]
[…] came across this article about how the world unfriend has become the word of the year according to oxford. What a great […]
pew pew pew pew
[…] Without further ado, the 2009 Word of the Year is: unfriend (verb) To remove someone as a ‘friend’ on a social networking site such as Facebook. – Oxford University Press Reference: https://blog.oup.com/2009/11/unfriend/ […]
[…] The New Oxford American Dictionary chose the verb “UNFRIEND” as its 2009 Word of the Year (WOTY) and defined it this way: “to remove someone as a ‘friend’ on a social networking site such as Facebook.” The word “has both currency and potential longevity,” explained Christine Lindberg, Oxford’s senior lexicographer on the OUP Blog. […]
[…] of remove him/her from your Facebook. Obviously, the word made a big buzz in the year of 2009 here and here. I still prefer the word Remove cos not everyone I’ve added on Facebook is my Friend […]
[…] this week, the New Oxford American Dictionary unveiled “unfriend” as the 2009 Word of the Year, providing the following definition and […]
Im gonna go out on a limb and say Facebook had something to do with this WotY :)
Another word added to the English language – just part of the evolving nature of a language.
[…] and the fact that in 2009, the New Oxford American Dictionary‘s Word of the Year was “unfriend” — to propose that the new “Validation” era of Internet life has begun, as […]
[…] que los lexicógrafos del New Oxford American Dictionary consideraron a fines del 2009 como las “palabras del año” veréis que, si se hiciese una fotografía de la sociedad actual, la tecnología sería lo más […]
[…] survive in a digital world. The New Oxford American Dictionary even selected the very Web 2.0 term “unfriend” as its 2009 Word of the […]
[…] Oxford University Press Blog […]
This announcement is usually applauded by some and derided by others and the ongoing conversation it sparks is always a lot of fun..!!
Well, “to unfriend someone” does sound a little weird but what can we do… there are so many influences and the language has to keep up.
i think it makes more sense… if you have to call it something… call it unfriending
[…] Overigens was unfriend ook het woord van het jaar volgens de New Oxford American Dictionary. […]
[…] unfriend – verb – To remove someone as a ‘friend’ on a social networking site such as Facebook […]
Both terms seem a bit harsh for some instances. Some times a “friend” may have been added in the past due to a common interest that may not be a current interest. Cleaning up one’s account to bring it more up to date with current reality makes these terms not quite fit. A simple “remove” or “delete” would seem less harsh.
[…] of the phrases the Oxford American Dictionary considered: teabagger -a person, who protests President Obama’s tax policies and stimulus package, often […]
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.
[…] and the fact that in 2009, the New Oxford American Dictionary‘s Word of the Year was “unfriend” — to propose that the new “Validation” era of Internet life has begun, as […]
[…] making to our lives. Each year the dictionary adds new social networking terms. In 2009 it added “unfriend” and “retweet”. (Oxford University Press, 2009). Maybe some of those […]
Don’t know about you but I like befriend more ;-)
[…] and the fact that in 2009, the New Oxford American Dictionary‘s Word of the Year was “unfriend” — to propose that the new “Validation” era of Internet life has begun, as […]
[…] help you with that except to say that you might want to consider restricting or unfriending them (which is an official word by the […]
[…] help you with that except to say that you might want to consider restricting or unfriending them (which is an official word by the […]
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.
[…] In December 2009, the New Oxford American Dictionary declared its word of the year to be the verb “unfriend“. […]
[…] In December 2009, the New Oxford American Dictionary declared its word of the year to be the verb “unfriend“. […]
[…] segundo ele, as pessoas que sofrem o “unfriend” (palavra do ano em 2009, segundo o “New Oxford American Dictionary“) podem sofrer alguns efeitos psicológicos, como redução da auto-estima e do senso de […]
[…] 2009, “unfriend” was named the Oxford Word Of The Year (unfriend – verb – To remove someone as a ‘friend’ on a social […]
[…] this week, the New Oxford American Dictionary unveiled “unfriend” as the 2009 Word of the Year, providing the following definition and […]
[…] emailing. Linking up with people is friending, and falling out with them again is described by the Oxford University Press word of the year of 2009: unfriending. And of course searching online is now amply covered by the ubiquitous idea of […]
[…] the word "unlike" however, "unfriend" was crowned word of the year back in 2009, the year Facebook was expanding […]
[…] El término fue agregado oficialmente a la jerga de la era digital por el New Oxford English Dictionary, el cual designó la palabra "unfriend" (eliminar de tu lista de amigos) como su palabra del año en 2009. […]
[…] then it has grown to become a global force affecting many aspects of our lives. Five years ago, Oxford Dictionaries selected ‘unfriend’ as Word of the Year. At the time, we also shared reasons why people unfriend someone on Facebook. On this occasion, we […]
[…] survive in a digital world. The New Oxford American Dictionary even selected the very Web 2.0 term “unfriend” as its 2009 Word of the […]
[…] technique is “unfriending”, which was the New Oxford American Dictionary’s Word of the Year for 2009 (actually it was […]
[…] from the my understanding. In December 2009, the New Oxford American Dictionary declared their word of the year to be the verb “unfriend”, defined as “To remove someone as a […]
This new “word” is a very sad sign of the times. I could say a lot more about this, but it would be a waste of my breath. Shame on you Oxford for legitimizing this pathetic excuse for a word.
[…] much all use Facebook and at least own a Skype account, don’t we? And hey, Unfriend was the Oxford word of the year in 2009! Just don’t accept any friend requests from Laura […]
[…] #1 “Oxford Word of the Year 2009: Unfriend” […]
[…] evolution of the English language. If a word becomes common enough (as did last year’s WOTY, unfriend), they will consider adding it to one (or several) of the dictionaries we publish. As for […]
[…] aller à privilégier non la quantité, mais la qualité de ceux qui vous entourent ? To unfriend or not to unfriend, that is the […]
[…] 2009, the Oxford American Dictionary chose unfriend as the word of the year. To unfriendsomeone means to remove them as your friend on Facebook. A […]
[…] of the current year. From 2004 we’ve had chav, podcast, carbon-neutral, locavore, hypermiling, unfriend, refudiate, squeezed middle, the verb GIF, and selfie. And in the UK, which has somewhat different […]
Aggiornamento 16 novembre 2009: unfriend è la parola dell’anno 2009 per il New Oxford American Dictionary. Thanks for Oxford
[…] New Oxford American Dictionary announced its Word of the Year today and like everyone else, the organization is keeping an eye on the internet. Its selection? […]
I’m using Oxford Dictionary, thanks!
The beginning of this article sound like a song. quite interested in this post
[…] que el término unfriend fue la palabra del 2009, entendemos que una definición clara del término en nuestro ámbito, puede resultar en infinidad […]