RSSThe 2007 'Word of the Year' is...w00t!
By Tim Conneally | Published December 12, 2007, 2:15 PM
That's not an interjection from the reporter. The exclamation "w00t" was chosen by Merriam-Webster's online users as 2007's Word of the Year.
An interesting choice if not simply because half of the word is spelled with numbers instead of letters, w00t is a neologism showing the effect that technology has on common language.
Deriving from the proto-language 1337, traditionally used by online gamers and the ever nefarious hackers (hax0rz!), the expression is defined by Merriam-Webster as: "an interjection expressing joy." It could be invoked following a personal triumph, or for no reason at all.
Think of it as "hooray" with zeroes.
"W00t" has also been noted to stand for "We Owned the Other Team," but as is sometimes the case with pop culture terminology, this is likely just a backronym.
Technology-influenced terms are the top two items on this year's Merriam-Webster Words of the Year list, the second top ranked word of the year this year is facebook. It's not the proper name of the popular social networking Web site, it's a verb describing practically every activity possible there: facebooking a photo (uploading it to the site), facebooking a party (creating a party as an event), facebooking someone (to look someone up).
For those who prefer The New Oxford American Dictionary, that publication's list of words of the year for 2007 include further tech-related terms such as bacn --a noun describing the automatically-sent email updates from news and social networking sites, (they're not quite spam, they're bacn)-- cloudware --shared online applications-- and social graph --the network of one's friends and connections on social networking sites.
once again
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|I was cracking up this morning listening to the tight asses over at Fox & Friends try to explain what the word means.
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|w00t
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|The end of language as we know it is at hand!
But language has to change and evolve, otherwise we would all still be grunting at each other in caves.
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|I second that. It's a gay word.
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|You seem to be going on about 'gay' words, phrases, products in different threads. Do you have a problem with your sexuality? There is professional help available, you know.
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|what a gay word
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|This is what woot means to me: www.woot.com
and I got a Zune for $100 and never been happier.
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|What's the word of the year for non greasy haired loners who speak the queens english?
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|*reads Thomas.tmc's explaination of the term*
I still think it's unintelligent to place something so obviously short term (in 20 years do you honestly think w00t is going to be used? I don't. ... and I certainly hope not).
With the way our country is at this point, and partially the world, I guess, I don't think they should be worrying about putting something so idiotic in the freaking dictionary like that.
Just my 2 cents.
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|Well on the other hand it's refreshing to see that school kids define today's language. One should investigate Merriam-Webster regarding child labor however.
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|Que pendejada!
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|The word of 1997 maybe, that is if it was a word and it isn't. Words don't have numbers in them.
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|w00t is slang, which historically has shaped the English language. The difference being that this is also text slang rather than just verbal slang.
When the way people communicate changes rapidly, don't be surprised if the language changes a little too and new concepts are introduced.
Also, if anyone is an authority on what is an isn't a word, it's the dictionary publishers, and Merriam-Webster isn't a small player in that arena. If it's in the English dictionary then it's in the English vernacular, and that does mean that it's a word.
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|This reminds me of urban slang that finally makes it in to common use once it has started becoming passe among the originators.
Aight fool.
Also, if w00t is the word of the year, isn't gaming finally here as America's favorite past time? When was the last slang word from any sport the w07y?
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|It's actually much older than that -- I remember it from a Dilbert strip released about ten years ago.
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|wOOt is so 2 years ago....
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|w00t!
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|Woooot i knew it XD Wtfc?
Who The F*ck Cares
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|Apparently YOU DO !
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