Merriam-Webster's word of '07: 'w00t'
By STEPHANIE REITZ, Associated Press Writer
22 minutes ago
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - Expect cheers among hardcore online game enthusiasts when they learn Merriam-Webster's Word of the Year. Or, more accurately, expect them to "w00t."
"W00t," a hybrid of letters and numbers used by gamers as an exclamation of happiness or triumph, topped all other terms in the Springfield-based dictionary publisher's online poll for the word that best sums up 2007.
Merriam-Webster's president, John Morse, said "w00t" was an ideal choice because it blends whimsy and new technology.
"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," Morse said.
Gamers commonly substitute numbers and symbols for the letters they resemble, Morse says, creating what they call "l33t speak" — that's "leet" when spoken, short for "elite" to the rest of the world.
For technophobes, the word also is familiar from the 1990 movie "Pretty Woman," in which Julia Roberts startles her date's upper-crust friends with a hearty "Woot, woot, woot!" at a polo match.
Purists of "l33t speak" often substitute a "7" for the final "t," expressing a "w007" of victory — an "in your face" of sorts — when they defeat an online gaming opponent.
"W00t" was among 20 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."
The choice did not make Allan Metcalf, executive secretary of the American Dialect Society, say "w00t."
"It's amusing, but it's limited to a small community and unlikely to spread and unlikely to last," said Metcalf, an English professor at MacMurray College in Jacksonville, Ill.
The 2006 pick, "truthiness," also has its roots in pop culture. It was popularized by Comedy Central satirical political commentator Stephen Colbert.
Some also-rans in the 2007 list: the use of "facebook" as a verb to signify using the Web site by that name; nuanced terms such as "quixotic," "hypocrite" and "conundrum"; and "blamestorm," a meeting in which mistakes are aired, fingers are pointed and much discomfort is had by all.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071211/ap_on_fe_st/word_of_the_year;_ylt=ApIWYrzlG1cZQYRX9.hvfBqhOrgF
4 comments:
While I have zero love for the word (?) w00t (and, in fact, this is the first time I have ever in my whole entire life typed it, since no one ever says "w00t" on the Oregon Trail, my last video game experience)--STILL, I need to comment in support of Ize, since I dubbed myself captain of the Ize Should Post More on HarpringSucks Club. Send me 8.99 and a SASE and you too can be a member!
Madame, I think you are my only fan. I thank you.
I think I like madam kicky - nobody ever mentions the Oregon Trail anymore. Those of us old enough to have forged the real thing appreciate the acknowledgment.
julia was referring to arsenio hall. Woof woof woof. Dumbass ap.
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