The Word of the Year

by Michele Cheplic | More from this Blogger

12 Dec 2007 10:54 PM

If you have a teen who is obsessed with computer games then Merriam-Webster's Word of the Year is one you are probably very familiar with... especially if they do a lot of winning.

Three cheers for "W00t."

The hybrid of letters and numbers used by online game enthusiasts as a way to express happiness or victory, topped all other terms in the Springfield-based dictionary publisher's online poll for the word that best sums up 2007.

Must have been quite a year for gamers.

Merriam-Webster's president says he is pleased with the choice because it reflects the growing role technology plays in our everyday lives.

"It shows a really interesting thing that's going on in language. It's a term that's arrived only because we're now communicating electronically with each other," Merriam-Webster's president said.

Technophobes (I'm referring to you Mom) who don't communicate electronically may not realize that online gamers commonly substitute numbers and symbols for the letters they resemble. The whole concept of "l33t speak," (Mom, it's pronounced "leet" and is short for "elite") is as foreign a language to them as Swahili. However, if you are technologically challenged, but love movies you may still be somewhat familiar with Merriam-Webster's Word of the Year since it was featured in the 1990 movie "Pretty Woman." Remember when Julia Roberts let's out a hearty "Woot, woot, woot!" at a polo match?

On the opposite side of the spectrum, if you are a "l33t speak" purist then you might opt to write "W00t" using a "7" instead of a "t," expressing a "w007" of victory when defeating an online gaming opponent.

"W00t" beat out more than 20 official nominees in a list of the most-searched words in Merriam-Webster's online dictionary and most frequently submitted terms from users of its "open dictionary." It beat out other well-searched words including "facebook" used as a verb to signify using the website by the same name and nuanced terms such as "quixotic,""hypocrite" and "conundrum." Personally, I thought the word "blamestorm" was going to come out on top. After all, how can you not appreciate having another term to use when "a meeting in which mistakes are aired, fingers are pointed and much discomfort is had by all?"

Online gamers might be giving a "W00t" about the selection, but others are not too pleased.

Allan Metcalf, executive secretary of the American Dialect Society says he doesn't give a hoot about "w00t" and neither should we.

"It's amusing, but it's limited to a small community and unlikely to spread and unlikely to last," said Metcalf, an English professor in Illinois.

What do you think about the word choice?

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Learn more about Michele Cheplic

Michele Cheplic was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii, but now lives in Wisconsin. Michele graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Journalism.

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