For the first time in its history, the Oxford English Dictionary has chosen the word “goblin mode” as the word of the year, using a public vote. “Goblin mode” is a slang term used to describe a type of behavior that, according to the dictionary, is “uncharacteristically self-indulgent, lazy, sloppy, or greedy, usually within societal norms or expectations.” rejects”.
For the first time, Oxford Languages has allowed the general public to vote on its annual Word of the Year selection. A group of eminent lexicographers selected the final three words from a huge list of worthy contenders: Metaverse, #IStandWith, and Goblin Mode. More than 300,000 English speakers participated in the two-week online voting period for Word of the Year.
The phrase gained popularity earlier this year as a way of saying that we should reject the expectations that society places on us and instead pursue what we want to achieve. The term soared earlier this year because of the idea of defying societal expectations put upon us, in favor of doing whatever one wants to do.
This is the first time that Oxford Languages has opened its annual word list to a public vote. A team of expert lexicographers narrowed a long list of eligible contestants down to three words — the final choice of Metaverse, #IStandWith, and Goblin Mode. The selection of the Word of the Year was conducted online over the past two weeks, with votes cast by more than 300,000 English speakers.
The term “Goblin Mode” received 93 percent of the more than 340,000 votes cast, with “Metaverse” coming in second with 4%. The Metaverse is a “virtual reality environment in which users can interact with each other’s avatars in an immersive way,” according to Oxford University Press. Meanwhile, the hashtag “#IStandWith” acknowledges the activity and discord that defined it this year.
“New words take hold when they capture our imagination or fill a hole with a word for a concept we need to express. ‘Goblin Mode’ tells me whether it resonates with the sentiment that the pandemic is over, but we are still grappling with it. Do we want to go back to the pre-pandemic world’s notion of respectability?” Catherine Connor Martin, product director at Oxford Languages, told NDTV in a telephone interview to The New York Times.
Meanwhile, Merriam-Webster, an American dictionary publisher, chose “gaslighting” as its word of the year for 2022. According to Merriam-Webster, there was a 1740% increase in “gaslighting” website searches in 2022, and there was “strong interest throughout the year.”
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