“Unfriend” is Word-of-the-Year

Just in case you didn’t think that social media was THE trend of 2009, The Oxford Dictionary folks have announced that “Unfriend” is their Word-of-the-Year.

For the record, the opfficial definition, as decreed y the Oxford New AMerican Dictionary is as follows:

unfriend – verb – To remove someone as a ‘friend’ on a social networking site such as Facebook.

Here’s the reasoning behind the selection:

“It has both currency and potential longevity,” notes Christine Lindberg, Senior Lexicographer for Oxford’s US dictionary program. “In the online social networking context, its meaning is understood, so its adoption as a modern verb form makes this an interesting choice for Word of the Year. Most “un-” prefixed words are adjectives (unacceptable, unpleasant), and there are certainly some familiar “un-” verbs (uncap, unpack), but “unfriend” is different from the norm. It assumes a verb sense of “friend” that is really not used (at least not since maybe the 17th century!). Unfriend has real lex-appeal.”

The selection was made from a slew of other social media terms, like:

Twibe
Tweep
Tweetup
Twitt
Twitterati
Twitterature
Twitterverse/sphere
Hashtag
Sexting

You can see the full field of contenders here.

Tweet on world.