The Oxford word of the year for 2012 is GIF.
Understanding the Oxford Word of the Year 2012
In 2012, Oxford American Dictionaries selected GIF as its Word of the Year. This choice highlighted the increasing prominence of digital communication and the evolution of language to describe new online behaviors.
The Significance of "GIF"
The selection of GIF was particularly notable because it was recognized not just as a noun (referring to a Graphics Interchange Format image file), but specifically as a verb. This emphasized its active use in everyday digital interaction.
- As a verb, "to GIF" means to create a GIF file or to share a GIF file of an image or video, especially online.
- This choice reflected the widespread adoption of animated images as a common method of expressing reactions, emotions, and short narratives on the internet.
Oxford Word of the Year: A Snapshot
The Oxford Word of the Year typically captures the ethos, mood, or preoccupations of the preceding year. It reflects words or expressions that have attracted a great deal of public interest during the year.
| Year | Oxford Word of the Year |
|---|---|
| 2012 | GIF (verb) |
This recognition underscored how technology was profoundly influencing language use and how new forms of media were generating new verbs to describe human actions.
