The word ‘selfie’ has been named as the word of the year by the Oxford Dictionary, the word havingimages (1) evolved from a phrase rooted in social media to a mainstream term.

Research conducted by the dictionary shows that the word was first used in 2002 on an Australian online forum when a user posted a picture of his injuries from falling over. Since then, its usage has increased by over 17,000% in the last year.

Other new words that made the shortlist include ‘binge-watch’, meaning to watch a large amount of TV, and ‘twerk’, the sexually suggestive dance move made famous by Miley Cyrus.

Other topical terms that came as runner ups to ‘selfie’ also included the term ‘schmeat’, which is defined as a form of meat synthetically produced from biological tissue.

English Language Reflecting Social Habits

What these words all have in common is their relevance to the social, political or technical topics of 2013, and are a testament to the inventiveness of the English Language. The word doesn’t necessarily have to be coined in the 12 months to qualify for the word of the year award, but the term must be particularly notable in that time.

Selfie is defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as “a photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically with a smartphone or webcam and uploaded to a social media site.”

Though our mobile phones have long been an integrated aspect of our day-to-day life, the fact that the word of the year can be traced back to our current smartpone habits reflects the impact this technology has had on our lives. Originally just a word used by a select few on social media sites, the term ‘selfie’ is now in mainstream use and proves how much we rely on our mobiles.



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