Word of the year
04/12/23 01:28
It comes as no surprise that I am a language geek. I love words, dictionaries, and language in general. Although I am not gifted in the use of other languages, I have a fairly decent command of English, both in writing and in speaking. My use of the term geek, however, is obviously dated. Geek was the word of the year a decade ago in the Collins Dictionary. I don’t think it ever made word of the year in the other dictionaries, though it probably made the top list in Websters somewhere around that time.
The fact that I’m reflecting on word of the year is another indication that I’m a language geek. This is the time of the year that the major dictionaries announce their word of the year. Word of the year is not a particularly old tradition, but the Oxford English Dictionary has been publishing lists of most popular new words for 20 years. These word lists started in 2003 and have been published at the end of each year since. Some of the words make it into my vocabulary. Others enjoy a brief period of recognition in pop culture and then fade.
I’m a big fan of the Oxford English Dictionary. I used to look at the multi-volume printed versions with envy when I visited libraries or bookstores. I contemplated the purchase several times when shopping in used book stores. The problem with all paper dictionaries, however, is that they are quickly dated. That is why the OED no longer publishes a paper version. If you want the latest in dictionaries, online is the way to go. Furthermore, one dictionary, even one as good as the OED, is insufficient for a language geek. I like to refer to several different dictionaries and this time of the year, I generally pay attention to the word of the year from at least Oxford, Websters, and Collins. Sometimes I Geek out and consult a lot of different dictionaries’ word lists. Lately, I’ve found myself looking at dictionary.com quite a bit. In some ways it seems a bit more conservative than some of the other online dictionaries. For example, most dictionaries have already released their word of the year for 2023, but the dictionary.com word of the year for this year has not yet appeared. And when that source does name its word of the year, it is usually one that is already in my vocabulary.
For example, the 2022 word of the year on dictionary.com is woman. I don’t often consult a dictionary for that definition, feeling that I have a pretty good understanding of the meaning of the word. The OED word of the year for 2022 was goblin mode, a term that I doubt will ever enter my vocabulary. Actually, OED has often chosen words that seem to reflect a bit of popular mood, but that don’t really stick as mainstays of our language. When was the last time you used chav, hovered, omnishambles, or youthquake in conversation? I suspect that part of the reason that OED frequently chooses words that don’t become common in years to come is its attempt to be comprehensive and consider the widest scope of the language. Words make it into the OED that simply don’t appear in other dictionaries, which makes it delightful for someone like me, but a bit cumbersome for some others. And for a language geek, one dictionary is never enough.
Ever since I received a copy of the Websters Collegiate Dictionary as a gift, I’ve included Websters in my list of sources. I used to balance my use of Websters by consulting the American Heritage Dictionary, because of its tendency to be more conservative in changing definitions. The American Heritage, however, is so conservative that it simply has failed to keep up. The latest version of that dictionary was printed in 2018 and the 2018 version is really just a light update of the 2011 version. I don’t think they do a word of the year.
So, more than half of the way through this essay, I’m finally getting around to the OED word of the year for 2023. Once again it is a bit of a disappointment for me. At least I don’t think I’m going to find it in my everyday vocabulary. The word is rizz. I have to bypass the spell checker in my word processing program just to type it. It is a slang term that is essentially the shortening of the word charisma. When used as a verb it can mean anything from attract to seduce. Rizz is used to describe the ability to attract a partner. I guess I don’t have much use for the word, as I haven’t been in search of a new partner. I’ve been happily married since 1973, and I’ve never found myself in a situationship.
Rizz made number two on the Merriam Webster list, narrowly loosing out to authentic. That is a word that I often use and will continue to use. Furthermore, it strikes me as meaningful in part because it is quite different from the Collins 2023 choice, AI. The thing about artificial intelligence or AI in my opinion is that it isn’t really intelligence at all. At least it isn’t authentic, even if it does seem to have a certain amount of rizz. Even when I try to use the words of the year, it sounds a bit unnatural. It certainly isn’t authentic for me to write using all of them.
I’m pretty sure that rizz isn’t going to make it into my regular vocabulary.
Still, one of the joys of language is that it is always evolving. For most of my life the main source of new words has been the rapid development of technology. Early in my life, the space program provided a host of new terms. In the early 1980s computer technology began rapidly adding words to the language. Many of the computer terms have become standard vocabulary. The fun thing about those words is that they often are the same in a host of different languages. Terabyte has the same meaning in Japanese as it does in English.
Maybe it is a reflection of my age, but I simply do not have the same level of interest in social media that I have in technology. My own personal language is less likely to grow in all of the new words coined on twitter. Oops, that is no longer the right word. I’m not sure that X is even a word, even though it did make the Webster’s short list of potential words of the year for 2023.
The fact that I’m reflecting on word of the year is another indication that I’m a language geek. This is the time of the year that the major dictionaries announce their word of the year. Word of the year is not a particularly old tradition, but the Oxford English Dictionary has been publishing lists of most popular new words for 20 years. These word lists started in 2003 and have been published at the end of each year since. Some of the words make it into my vocabulary. Others enjoy a brief period of recognition in pop culture and then fade.
I’m a big fan of the Oxford English Dictionary. I used to look at the multi-volume printed versions with envy when I visited libraries or bookstores. I contemplated the purchase several times when shopping in used book stores. The problem with all paper dictionaries, however, is that they are quickly dated. That is why the OED no longer publishes a paper version. If you want the latest in dictionaries, online is the way to go. Furthermore, one dictionary, even one as good as the OED, is insufficient for a language geek. I like to refer to several different dictionaries and this time of the year, I generally pay attention to the word of the year from at least Oxford, Websters, and Collins. Sometimes I Geek out and consult a lot of different dictionaries’ word lists. Lately, I’ve found myself looking at dictionary.com quite a bit. In some ways it seems a bit more conservative than some of the other online dictionaries. For example, most dictionaries have already released their word of the year for 2023, but the dictionary.com word of the year for this year has not yet appeared. And when that source does name its word of the year, it is usually one that is already in my vocabulary.
For example, the 2022 word of the year on dictionary.com is woman. I don’t often consult a dictionary for that definition, feeling that I have a pretty good understanding of the meaning of the word. The OED word of the year for 2022 was goblin mode, a term that I doubt will ever enter my vocabulary. Actually, OED has often chosen words that seem to reflect a bit of popular mood, but that don’t really stick as mainstays of our language. When was the last time you used chav, hovered, omnishambles, or youthquake in conversation? I suspect that part of the reason that OED frequently chooses words that don’t become common in years to come is its attempt to be comprehensive and consider the widest scope of the language. Words make it into the OED that simply don’t appear in other dictionaries, which makes it delightful for someone like me, but a bit cumbersome for some others. And for a language geek, one dictionary is never enough.
Ever since I received a copy of the Websters Collegiate Dictionary as a gift, I’ve included Websters in my list of sources. I used to balance my use of Websters by consulting the American Heritage Dictionary, because of its tendency to be more conservative in changing definitions. The American Heritage, however, is so conservative that it simply has failed to keep up. The latest version of that dictionary was printed in 2018 and the 2018 version is really just a light update of the 2011 version. I don’t think they do a word of the year.
So, more than half of the way through this essay, I’m finally getting around to the OED word of the year for 2023. Once again it is a bit of a disappointment for me. At least I don’t think I’m going to find it in my everyday vocabulary. The word is rizz. I have to bypass the spell checker in my word processing program just to type it. It is a slang term that is essentially the shortening of the word charisma. When used as a verb it can mean anything from attract to seduce. Rizz is used to describe the ability to attract a partner. I guess I don’t have much use for the word, as I haven’t been in search of a new partner. I’ve been happily married since 1973, and I’ve never found myself in a situationship.
Rizz made number two on the Merriam Webster list, narrowly loosing out to authentic. That is a word that I often use and will continue to use. Furthermore, it strikes me as meaningful in part because it is quite different from the Collins 2023 choice, AI. The thing about artificial intelligence or AI in my opinion is that it isn’t really intelligence at all. At least it isn’t authentic, even if it does seem to have a certain amount of rizz. Even when I try to use the words of the year, it sounds a bit unnatural. It certainly isn’t authentic for me to write using all of them.
I’m pretty sure that rizz isn’t going to make it into my regular vocabulary.
Still, one of the joys of language is that it is always evolving. For most of my life the main source of new words has been the rapid development of technology. Early in my life, the space program provided a host of new terms. In the early 1980s computer technology began rapidly adding words to the language. Many of the computer terms have become standard vocabulary. The fun thing about those words is that they often are the same in a host of different languages. Terabyte has the same meaning in Japanese as it does in English.
Maybe it is a reflection of my age, but I simply do not have the same level of interest in social media that I have in technology. My own personal language is less likely to grow in all of the new words coined on twitter. Oops, that is no longer the right word. I’m not sure that X is even a word, even though it did make the Webster’s short list of potential words of the year for 2023.
