Since 1991, the American Dialect Society has designated one or more words or terms to be the word of the year. The New York Times credits the American Dialect Society with starting the phenomenon.
In addition, the ADS has chosen its "Word of the 1990s" (web), "Word of the 20th Century" (jazz), and "Word of the Past Millennium" (she). The society also selects words in other categories that vary from year to year, such as most original, most unnecessary, most outrageous and most likely to succeed (see word of the year).
A number of words chosen by the ADS are also on the list of Merriam-Webster's Words of the Year.
Read more about this topic: American Dialect Society
Famous quotes containing the words word of, word and/or year:
“There are no fixtures in nature. The universe is fluid and volatile. Permanence is but a word of degrees. Our globe seen by God is a transparent law, not a mass of facts. The law dissolves the fact and holds it fluid.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“Under the one word “house” are included the schoolhouse, the almshouse, the jail, the tavern, the dwellinghouse; and the meanest shed or cave in which men live contains elements of all these. But nowhere on the earth stands the entire and perfect house.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“The year growing ancient,
Not yet on summer’s death, nor on the birth
Of trembling winter, the fairest flowers o’the season
Are our carnations and streaked gillyvors.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)