Google is the Word of the Decade

The ADS names Google Word of Decade

The ADS (American Dialect Society), founded in 1889, is a learned society "dedicated to the study of the English language in North America, and of other languages, or dialects of other languages, influencing it or influenced by it." Every year and decade they decide on a word that has been the most influential and widespread in its use over that time period, and has had the greatest impact on our language.

The ADS selected Google (the verb, not the noun), as word of the decade. Google was up against a number of other influential words of the decade, not the least of which is blog.

Tweet Wins Word of the Year

And the word for the year (2009)? Tweet. It's not surprising that two of the top contenders for word of the decade where technology related words.

Grant Barrett, chair of the society's New Words Committee, when asked about Google and tweet as winners in their categories, notes that "both words are, in the end, products of the Information Age, where every person has the ability to satisfy curiosity and to broadcast to a select following via the Internet."

Not everyone agrees with the ADS on tweet winning word of the year, however. Merriam-Webster dictionary chose admonish (how exciting), while the New Oxford American dictionary chose unfriend (as in unfriending someone on Facebook).

Why did Google win? Why not Blog?

But why did Google edge out the word blog, which many consider to be even more significant? Probably because more people Google than blog. And Google (to Google, or Googling), a brand name (whereas blog is a generic term) has become synonymous with the generic term for searching the web, just as many people now ask for a Kleenex instead of a tissue.

What did Google's Competition Look Like?

What were some of the other words that Google was up against besides blog? Contenders included 9/11, green, wi-fi, text, and war on terror. And what was Tweet up against for word of the year? Tweet's contenders included the runner up for 2009, Dracula Sneeze (sneezing in the crook of your elbow, or if you're the Count, in your cape). H1N1, not surprisingly, was also on that list.

Words of the Year Winners - 2000's

What about the other winners of word of the year in the past decade? Here are the ADS winners, and some of their notable competitors, for words of the year for each year in the past 10 years. Notice how both Google and blog were runner-ups for word of the year in 2002!

• 2009: Tweet
• 2008: Bailout (going up against Barack Obama and bromance)
• 2007: Subprime (Facebook)
• 2006: Plutoed (YouTube)
• 2005: Truthiness (Katrina, Sudoku, and Podcast)
• 2004: Red state, blue state, purple state (phish)
• 2003: Metrosexual (Embed and SARS)
• 2002: WMD (Google and blog)
• 2001: 9/11 (Suicide bomber, ground zero)
• 2000: Chad (Courtesy call, Nader traitor)

Should Google Have Won?

What do you feel? Do you feel Google (and Tweet) deserve this much attention? Can you think of another word that was more prominent in the last 10 years? Chime in below.