Oxford Word of the Year 2009: unfriend

Every year the New Oxford American Dictionary announce its Word of the Year. This announcement is usually applauded by some and derided by others.

This year it has named “unfriend” as Word of the Year. The definition of “unfriend”, according to Oxford, is "to remove someone as a ‘friend’ on a social networking site such as Facebook.” For example: “I decided to unfriend my roommate on Facebook after we had a fight.”

Most “un-” prefixed words are adjectives (unacceptable, unpleasant), and there are certainly some familiar “un-” verbs (uncap, unpack), but “unfriend”, a verb, is different from the norm.

Oxford University Press USA, in a blog post, said "unfriend", had beaten teabagger, netbook, sexting, paywall, birther and death panel, hastag, zombie bank, ecotown, tramp stamp for the honour.

"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 (2006), locavore (2007), and hypermiling (2008).

Carbon neutral is an adjective that refers to the point at which greenhouse gas emissions from one’s activities, such as driving or flying, are offset by planting trees or investing in solar, wind or other clean-energy projects. Locavores are people who eat locally grown food while hypermiling is a verb meaning “to attempt to maximize gas mileage by making fuel-conserving adjustments to one’s car and one’s driving techniques.”

The words on Oxford Word of the Year shortlist are under considered for inclusion in the next dictionary—they are on “words to watch” list. Depending on frequency of usage, they may be added to the next edition of the New Oxford American Dictionary, to publish in Fall 2010.

Word of the year shortlist and finalists:

Technology
hastag – 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
dead 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