“Unfriend” is New Oxford American Word of the Year
Nov 17
I never knew that “Unfriend” was an official word. In fact each time you type it on word, it still gets the red dotted underline which says that there’s no such thing. However. in a recent press release, New Oxford America declared “Unfriend”, or the act of removing someone from your friends list in your social network, as the word of the year. Here’s the full article for your reading pleasure:
‘Unfriend’ is New Oxford American word of the year
Agence France-Presse
First Posted 07:59:00 11/17/2009Filed Under: Language, Internet
WASHINGTON DC, United States—The New Oxford American Dictionary named “unfriend”—as in deleting someone as a friend on a social network such as Facebook—its word of the year on Monday.Oxford University Press USA, in a blog post, said “unfriend,” a verb, had bested netbook, sexting, paywall, birther, and death panel for the honor.
“Unfriend has real lex-appeal,” said Christine Lindberg, senior lexicographer for Oxford’s US dictionary program.
“It has both currency and potential longevity,” she said. “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.”
Previous words of the year include carbon neutral, locavore, and hypermiling.
Locavores are people who eat locally grown food while hypermilers modify their cars and driving techniques to maximize gas mileage.
So, quick question, have you ever “unfriended” anyone before?
RSS
Twitter
Facebook
LinkedIn
