Julie's Journal

It’s that time of year again to vote for the Merriam-Webster 2007 Word of the Year. They’ve chosen words from popular searches, and submissions on their web site, and came up with this list of 20 words. You’ve got until Friday, December 7, 2007 to vote, so look over the words and make your decision.

Make sure to tell me which one you picked, and why you chose that particular word.

1. apathetic – having or showing little or no feeling or emotion.
2. babymoon – a short vacation for a couple before the birth of their child.
3. blamestorm – sitting around in a group, discussing why a deadline was missed or a project failed, and who was responsible.
4. charlatan – one making usually showy pretenses to knowledge or ability.
5. conundrum – a riddle whose answer is or involves a pun.
6. cruft – an element in computer coding typified by lack of style, quality, or relevancy.
7. eleemosynary – of, relating to, or supported by charity.
8. facebook – to get on a facebook website.
9. hypocrite – a person who puts on a false appearance of virtue or religion.
10. linkability – the attractiveness of a Web site’s overall quality of content as a measure of potential Internet links made.
11. melancholy – an abnormal state attributed to an excess of black bile and characterized by irascibility or depression.
12. Pecksniffian – unctuously hypocritical.
13. pretentious – making usually unjustified or excessive claims (as of value or standing).
14. pugnacious – having a quarrelsome or combative nature.
15. quixotic – having a quarrelsome or combative nature.
16. sardoodledom – mechanically contrived plot structure and stereotyped or unrealistic characterization in drama.
17. sputum – expectorated matter especially from the air passages in diseases of the lungs, bronchi, or upper respiratory tract.
18. subpoena – a writ commanding a person designated in it to appear in court under a penalty for failure.
19. vanity sizing – A term used to explain arcane practices attributable to sizing evolution or inflation.
20. w00t – an interjection expressing joy (it could be after a triumph, or for no reason at all); similar in use to the word “yay.”

It took me awhile to decide, and then I went with the word linkability. “I would like to think that my blog has linkability.”

EDIT – (December 12, 2007) w00t made the Merriam-Webster 2007 Word of the Year!

[tags]Merriam-Webster, 2007 Word of the Year, linkability[/tags]