Bytes: OXFORD WORD OF THE YEAR 203

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The Oxford Word of the Year is a word or expression that has attracted a great deal of interest over the last 12 months. Every year the candidates are discussed and evaluated to choose a winner that is judged to reflect the ethos, mood, or preoccupations of that particular year and to have lasting potential as a word of cultural significance.

See if you agree with rhe selections below . . .

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Word of the Year:

Rizz:

After more than 32,000 votes, and a team of language experts, Oxford’s Word of the Year 2023 is...

rizz

2023 marked the era of personal – and professional – PR. And what does it take to command attention? A whole lot of charisma, or the shortened form, ‘rizz’.

Pertaining to someone’s ability to attract another person through style, charm, or attractiveness, this term is from the middle part of the word ‘charisma’, which is an unusual word formation pattern. Other examples include ‘fridge’ (refrigerator) and ‘flu’ (influenza).

Use of the word as recorded has increased dramatically in 2023, with a peak in June 2023, when actor Tom Holland was asked in a widely reported interview about his ‘rizz’, to which he answered, ‘I have no rizz whatsoever, I have limited rizz.’

The word ‘rizz’ can also be used as a verb, often in the phrase ‘rizz up’, which means ‘to attract, seduce, or chat up (a person)’.

Urban Dictionary:

Rizz actually comes from the word charisma, where in southern Baltimore they've started to shorten it, to "rizzma" (the noun replacing charisma) and to "rizz" (the action of showing charisma), through twitch live streamer Kai Cenat's editor, a resident of south Baltimore, he started putting rizz in the compilation thumbnails and the word was adopted all over the United States

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The finalists:

Prompt:

An instruction given to an artificial intelligence program, algorithm, etc., which determines or influences the content it generates.

As AI became more prevalent, so too did the need for human skills to moderate and direct these advances. Harnessing its potential means providing a ‘prompt’ to influence the content generated.

Words relating to AI have been particularly prominent in 2023, with use of the word ‘prompt’ in contexts that relate to AI increasing hugely this year from very little use before 2022.

As AI systems have spread to business, education, creative contexts, and elsewhere, more people have developed the skills needed to use them effectively and, in some cases, becoming specialized as ‘prompt engineers’.

This new meaning is a development of a wider sense: ‘Something said or done to aid the memory; a reminder; spec. a word or phrase spoken to remind an actor, reciter, etc., of a forgotten word or line (cf. prompt v. 1)’. Use of this word reflects the increased prominence of artificial intelligence in society and highlights the interaction of humans with machines.

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Situationship:

A romantic or sexual relationship that is not considered to be formal or established.

2023 reevaluated how we connect with one another and the words we use to describe our relationships – and how some of those relationships defy convention.

Etymologically, ‘situationship’ is a blend of ‘situation’ and ‘relationship’. Blending is a notable source of new words in English, particularly when words are coined self-consciously to describe a new phenomenon.

A term popularized by social media and modern dating shows, the term seems to have been coined in the late noughties or early 2010s’

The word captures the uncertainty and lack of formalization that many people feel about their relationships. Its usage has been growing steadily in frequency showing that the term has resonated with people.

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Swiftie:

An enthusiastic fan of the singer Taylor Swift.

2023 saw us being influenced more than ever by public figures, whether traditional superstars or those who have become famous on the internet. And it's hard to think of this year without thinking about fandom culture and Taylor Swift, who dominated headlines with her record-breaking tour, movie deal, and billionaire empire.

The term ‘Swiftie’ seems to date from the late noughties and has been gradually growing in prominence.

The word was more than 10 times more common in September 2023 than a year before in September 2022, use of the word likely related to coverage of Swift’s highly successful Eras tour.

Etymologically, the word ‘Swiftie’ is formed from the singer’s name, with the suffix ‘ie’ (or ‘y’), which is often used to form diminutives or pet names, with an implication of affection.

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By the way:

There is a funny character on Youtube videos called Uncle Roger (he calls people uncle, auntie etc), played by the Malaysian comedian Nigel Ng.

In one video, link below, when reviewing a cooking video by Brooklyn Beckham, he uses the term ‘nepo baby’.

Urban Dictionary:

nepo baby:

a child of a famous actor/celebrity who got famous due to nepotism.

“Did you hear about Jamie? She’s such a nepo baby.”