The New Oxford Dictionary announced “unfriend” as its word of the year for 2009. You can hear the NPR story online. It’s worth listening- the very short discussion includes a list of words that didn’t make the cut, including my favorite, “trampstamp”. (having to do with a tatoo in a particular location)
Enough about anyone else’s word of the year, what I’m interested in is YOURS. If you had to choose one word for 2009, what would it be? The New Oxford Dictionary chooses their word “to reflect the ethos of the year…”. What word do you choose?
There are lots of definitions of ethos on the Web, the one I’ll refer to here is ”the distinctive spirit of a culture or an era”, from a Princeton University resource. What word reflects the distinctive spirit of 2009 as you experienced it?
Sometimes a bit of reflection lights an area you hadn’t seen before. Sometimes it lights a bump in the road or a new path. Try it. If you find yourself with a bit of time for thought, invest it in thinking about your “word of the year” for 2009.
Of course, you know what’s coming – can you see any candidates in the works for your “word of the year” for 2010?
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My word for 2009 is going to have to be “bankruptcy” – it has lots of meaning for me, at least, and not in a bad way! I also think it reflects our economic conditions. It may be my word for 2010, as well, given how bad the employment outlook is…Which is why “entrepreneurship” may be another good word for the year.