Word of the Year

Word of the Year 2009: Distracted Driving

Natalie — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:01:50 +0000

Distracted driving – what many are guilty of when they use digital devices on the go – is rapidly entering law books around the world and earns the 2009 Word of the Year choice at Webster’s New World® College Dictionary.

What is Distracted Driving?

Watch Editor-in-Chief Mike Agnes explain why Webster’s New World Dictionary selected distracted driving as Word of the Year:

A sign of the times surely, distracted driving is another reflection – and consequence – of our ongoing romance with all things digital and mobile and the enhanced capabilities they provide. While it now may be easier and quicker to feed our multitasking habits, it is not always safe, and many jurisdictions are formalizing that position by making it a crime to text or otherwise use a cellphone while driving. In other words, CrackBerry users beware, lest a charge of DWD (driving while distracted) or DWT (driving while texting) stain your record, not to mention endanger yourself and others. (CrackBerry – the mocking term for the BlackBerry™ and its “addicts” – was the 2006 Word of the Year.)

The term distracted driving is also a linguistic catch, note Webster’s New World® editors. As with drunk driving, it is not the driving that is drunk or distracted, but rather the driver. The target of the modifier distracted has been changed. Called hypallage, this twist is frequently seen in poetry, but as terms like restless night, juvenile detention center, and careless remark attest, such semantic inversion is not limited to the heights of language use.

The competition for 2009 Word of the Year at Webster’s New World® had several worthy contenders. Among the runners-up were

cloud computing: computer operations in which documents and data are created, edited, and stored remotely on servers and accessed by the user via an Internet connection (a beta definition, but this term is so well established that it will likely be added to the annual update of the College Dictionary in 2010)
wallet biopsy: examination, before medical service is provided, of a patient’s ability to pay, enabling the health care provider to decide whether free or discounted medical care is appropriate; a term probably fueled in part by the debate on national health care and a number of business and economy-related terms, such as stimulus and Too Big To Fail.

Choosing the Word of the Year is a pleasant exercise that the editors and language researchers (called citation readers) of Webster’s New World® look forward to each year. “We survey the emerging English of the past year,” says Editor in Chief Michael Agnes, “and choose one word (or phrase) that captures our imagination – whether with its intrinsic linguistic attributes or by the way it expresses how language reflects changing realities.”

“In most cases,” says Agnes, “the word chosen is a new one and thus hasn’t yet found its way into the dictionary. As we do not try to predict the future of language change in English, the choice does not reflect an opinion that the term will eventually be found in the dictionary. In short, it’s merely one that made us chuckle, think, reflect, or just shake our heads. In any case, it is a product of our language monitoring program, by which we collect examples of emerging new English – to the tune of nearly 3,000 new examples per month. Our citation files now hold approximately 2 million such examples.”

Through more than five decades of language research, Webster’s New World® lexicographers have created a uniquely modern dictionary that helps you understand and use the language as no other dictionary can. With the most readable, precise, and up-to-date definitions, the dictionary also has reference sections that provide a wealth of information not found in any other college-level dictionary. Included are rules of punctuation, geographical tables, and scientific and measurement charts. The rich history of our language is traced with the identification of Americanisms and with detailed etymologies, and the dictionary also boasts higher-quality paper that enhances readability and durability.

Selected by the Associated Press,The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and other leading newspapers as their official dictionary of choice, Webster’s New World® College Dictionary represents the finest linguistic scholarship. For more information on the lexicographical process behind the dictionary, Editor in Chief Mike Agnes is available for interviews.

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Word of the Year 2008: Overshare

Natalie — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 06:31:08 +0000

Your votes are in and the editors at Webster’s New World Dictionary have spoken: 2008′s Word of the Year is overshare!

What is “overshare”?

overshare (verb): to divulge excessive personal information, as in a blog or broadcast interview, prompting reactions ranging from alarmed discomfort to approval.

Watch Editor-in-Chief Mike Agnes explain why Webster’s New World Dictionary selected overshare as 2008′s Word of the Year, plus real life examples of oversharing (and its consequences) from passersby in Washington Square Park, NYC:

Use In Context

Overshare has increasingly been used to reference those who divulge excessive personal information, online as well as offline – Gawker even published a field guide to compulsive oversharers in April 2008. A few other examples of overshare, used in context, can be found here.

Why was overshare chosen as Word of the Year?

Mike Agnes explains why the editors at Webster’s New World Dictionary chose overshare as 2008′s Word of the Year:

“First of all, we’re always interested in words that serve as both noun and verb because we’re linguists. Second of all, this is a word that reflects current trends in public communications and personal sharing of information.

It’s also a word that is rather slip-slippery, chameleon-like. Some people use it disparagingly; they don’t like oversharing. Others think oversharing is good and that one must give full disclosure of one’s inner life. Sometimes there is a generational shift in the way people look at this practice and therefore view the word. We found that very interesting.

Now is overshare in the dictionary? No. Typically words chosen as Word of the Year are parts of emerging English. They’re not yet in. They don’t have a track record of usage. They don’t have a breadth of usage yet that qualifies them for entry in the dictionary. But they are words that we’re watching with our language monitoring program. So this is what the editors of Webster’s New World Dictionary have chosen for 2008′s Word of the Year: overshare.”

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Final Candidates for 2008 Word of the Year

Natalie — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 01:35:54 +0000

Mike Agnes, Editor in Chief of Webster’s New World Dictionary, announces the final five candidates for Word of the Year. We asked passersby at NYC’s Washington Square Park to share thoughts on each of the words.

Learn more about the final candidates for Word of the Year 2008. Click below to view definitions and instances of usage in context:

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Vote for Your Favorite Word!

Natalie — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 22:11:32 +0000

Webster’s New World Dictionary would like to hear which word YOU would have chosen as Word of the Year for 2008.

View This Poll

Want to learn more about the words? Click below to view definitions and instances of usage in context:

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