Merriam-Webster's Word of 2007: w00t!

Original source: Merriam-Webster's word of '07: 'w00t' - Yahoo! News

Originally Posted by Yahoo News Article

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.

I dunno... I wasnt aware that words in the dictionary could have numbers as well as letters... it was bound to happen sooner or later.

So what do you guys think? Good addition? Or do you agree with the English Professor that its a waste of space and wont spread too far?

I dunno on this one... it does originate on the internet, and let's face it, there's no escaping the internet. Plus, facebook? Seriously?

Jam it back in, in the dark.

W00t!!!!

No seriously... Can we get "tosser", "hamtoucher", "fuckwad" and "cumguzzler" in the dictionary as well?

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by TFA

The 2006 pick, "truthiness," also has its roots in pop culture. It was popularized by Comedy Central satirical political commentator Stephen Colbert.

The 2005 pick, "infosnacking", was made up solely for the purpose of being the 2005 Word of the Year.

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They couldn't have done this sooner? I mean, I've had a T-shirt that says w00t on it for two years.

Not that anyone gives a shit about Merriam-Webster's Word of the Year. Which more or less explains why w00t is this year's Word of the Year.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

w00t was selected on a poll on the internet? My mind has been blown.

Also, I do like the term blamestorm even though I've never heard it before.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by RacinReaver

w00t was selected on a poll on the internet? My mind has been blown.

It's yet another example of the Mr Splashy Pants Effect (Look about halfway down or just ctrl-f it) whereby the silliest option on any internet poll will inevitably end up the winner.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by RacinReaver

Also, I do like the term blamestorm even though I've never heard it before.

Yeah, that got a lol out of me too.

Wait, they were considering nominating "hypocrite?" Is that really a "nuanced term" that needs to be called to attention?

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Dev --
From what I've seen of how this works, expect lulz to be the word of the year in 2012

Also: "truthiness"?

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

I'm glad the good folks at Merriam-Webster finally got Internet access.

Word of 2008: MP3

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Shin

It's yet another example of the Mr Splashy Pants Effect (Look about halfway down or just ctrl-f it) whereby the silliest option on any internet poll will inevitably end up the winner.

Like when the L-block from Tetris won the 2007 GameFAQs character battle?

So does winning this really earn "w00t" a place in the dictionary? If that's true, it's gotta be one of the first words to officially enter the language with numbers in place of vowel sounds, which'll no doubt open the door for all sorts of 733tn355 1n teh footure. We are living in epic times indeed.

I see that slang is also being primarily attributed to gamers now, not just your average script kiddies. It's quite a conundrum, but I'll quixotically facebook any hypocrite who conjures a blamestorm about it.

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Originally Posted by Nall

It's quite a conundrum, but I'll quixotically facebook any hypocrite who conjures a blamestorm about it.

That made me lulz. No really. I usually have normal grammar online, but I have been known to drop a "woot" (spelled that way, even though it's 'wrong') quite often.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

At least it has some flavor, I was expecting some word that would best be heard in a spelling bee.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

I, for one, hate that a "word" like this gets a spot in the dictionary. I absolutely abhor "l33t-speak" and this kind of thing makes the idiot masses who created it think that it's acceptable to butcher the English language like this. I'm fucking amazed that it wasn't "pwn" that get picked. They're probably saving that for next year though.

How ya doing, buddy?

It reminded me of the news story of the Oxford Word of Year, Locavore for some reason. >.>;

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?