The 2014 Word of the Year

Time for ol' Bilbo to dust off that degree in Linguistics and talk about words again ...

Yesterday, the Oxford Dictionaries announced their Word of the Year for 2014: vape.

Vape? you say. What?

According to a press release from the Oxford Dictionaries, vape derives from the existing word vapor, and can be both a noun and a verb. As a verb, it refers to the act of inhaling and exhaling the vapor produced by an electronic cigarette; as a noun, it can refer to the electronic smoking device itself. Name your poison, right?

Vape beat out several other words on the linguistic word-of-the-year short list, which included:

Bae (noun) - a term of endearment for a romantic partner. It may derive from a shortened form of baby or babe, but may be an acronym for ‘before anyone else.’ Perhaps it's just me, but I think this is a dumb neologism ... I just can't see calling Agnes bae instead of schatz*.

Budtender (noun) - A person who serves customers in a cannabis dispensary or shop. I remember the good old days, when a Bud was something drawn for you by a bartender when you couldn't afford or find real beer ... not a reference to Mexican happy grass. Sigh.

and,

Slacktivism (noun) - An informal term for actions performed via the Internet in support of a political or social cause, but regarded as requiring little time or involvement, e.g. signing an online petition or joining a campaign group on a social media website. It derives, of course, from the combination of the words slack (or slacker) and activism.

Don't just be a slacktivist ... expand your vocabulary today instead of visiting a budtender or vaping**.

Have a good day. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo

* A German term of endearment which literally means "treasure."

** Are people who vape being vapid? Discuss.