For the last few years, the Collins online dictionary has selected a single word that best summarised the internet in the previous year.
In keeping with the speed of change though, for 2012 the dictionary often favoured by SEO writers has had to select twelve of them.
Handily, that is the same number of months in the year, (who would’ve thought it!?), leaving Ian Brookes to say:
“Choosing just one word for 2012 didn’t match the pace at which our language is changing.”
The consulting editor for the online tome continued:
“So we selected one popular word to represent each month from the whole range of those submitted.”
Not all of the words selected will necessarily stay in the dictionary though. For example, ‘legbomb’, which appeared following Angelina Jolie’s Oscar red carpet appearance was a sensation in February. However, it seems to be on its, er, last legs as it seems to have hobbled out of use.
Likely to hang around for a while longer is ‘Zuckered’ which is May’s representative. Coined following Facebook’s plummeting share price, there will likely be many more companies and individuals to be Zuckered in coming years.
Whether either word will make it into the print edition is unclear though. With Brookes claiming how language is a constantly evolving animal, updating online editions is a good deal easier.
A word, or phrase, that will almost certainly make it into print is Gangnam Style. December’s shout for word of the month, Collins probably could have selected this as the word of 2012, as it practically took over the last quarter of the year.
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