'Unfriend' named word of the year

Last updated 09:10 17/11/2009

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The Oxford American Dictionary has named "unfriend", a verb meaning "to remove someone as a friend on social networking sites such as Facebook" as its 2009 word of the year.

The new word has real "lex-appeal" according to Oxford's US dictionary spokeswoman, senior lexicographer Christine Lindberg.

"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."

Ms Lindberg said that most 'un-' prefixed words are adjectives such as 'unacceptable' or 'unpleasant' while there are other familiar 'un-' verbs such as 'uncap' or 'unpack'.

"But 'unfriend' is different from the norm. It assumes a verb sense of 'friend' that is really not used (at least not since maybe the 17th century!)."

Twitter also provided some new favourites including hashtag - a hash sign added to a word or phrase that enables Twitter users to search for tweets

Other word of the year finalists included:

* intexticated - distracted because texting on a cellphone while driving a vehicle

* sexting - the sending of sexually explicit texts and pictures by cellphone

* 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

* deleb - a dead celebrity

* tramp stamp - a tattoo on the lower back, usually on a woman

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- © Fairfax NZ News

38 comments
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Haz   #38   12:17 am Nov 18 2009

#14 - Social networks have only boomed in the past few years, and as such the use of 'friend' in that sense (which hence lead to the term 'unfriend') is a relatively new entrant to the common lexicon.

Wrt 'Tramp stamp', the term has been around at least since I was in high school in the late 90's. I heard arse antlers once (on an american tv show) and skank stamp a few times but that was ages ago, when 'skank' was in use a lot, with other terms like 'skank pants' (tight white pants, commonly with black g-string underneath).

abnb   #37   10:31 pm Nov 17 2009

"Unfriend" is nowhere near as common as "defriend". Trampstamp is ancient and who even uses the other words at all? Dickery remains my word of the year.

Mr Spooky   #36   09:27 pm Nov 17 2009

Tramp Stamp, is not a new word, it is old school, along with 'hooker hook' and there is plenty of people out their in there 30s that would know the meaning of both those as they are normally linked with one another

Nick   #35   05:46 pm Nov 17 2009

Well not really James. Oxford, being a leading dictionary and all, should at least realise the difference between a word and a phrase. Makes the whole thing look a bit silly, really.

Matthew   #34   05:43 pm Nov 17 2009

All the above words should have no place in the English Dictionary.

Arthur   #33   03:31 pm Nov 17 2009

American Oxford dictionary is an oxymoron. But then again Yanks have little understanding of English so they need one.

Nick #21, stop complicating things with facts. The poor things in TweetFace-land will get confused.

claire   #32   03:26 pm Nov 17 2009

Chillax is my current all use word. but maybe I'm just slow, has it been around longer?

Chris   #31   02:18 pm Nov 17 2009

Awesome, let's make up words and claim them to be real words. First it was allowing text speak in exams, and making text speak acceptable every day words, now we're allowing Twitter and Facebook slang to be real words too?

Eliot   #30   02:06 pm Nov 17 2009

Dude-ication. New version of bros before hoes. Thought I made it up first but a quick google search suggests otherwise

Genesis   #29   01:30 pm Nov 17 2009

Bromance or Man-Love all the way!

I must say, as a twenty-something internet user, I've never heard of any of these words on the list (Except Tramp Stamp which is so five years ago)


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