Oxford's Word of the Year by Benjamin Schoonmaker
Oxford Languages is the provider of Google’s English Dictionary and is the world’s leading dictionary publisher. At the end of each year, Oxford Languages chooses a word, expression, or phrase that has been notably popular or frequent that year. This is done by debating over many candidates. The word must reflect a preoccupation or mood of that year and be culturally significant.
This year, after over 32,000 votes, including many language experts, Oxford’s Word of the Year for 2023 is, “Rizz.” The word ‘rizz’ comes from the word ‘charisma’ and is the shortened form of it. It is a noun and means a charm and style or the ability to attract a partner. It can also be used as a verb to mean to chat up a person.
Oxford has a way to track word or phrase usage frequency called the Oxford Monitor Corpus. Runner Ups for the 2023 Word of the Year include ‘situationship’, which is a relationship that hasn’t been established or isn’t official, and ‘swiftie’, which is a very enthusiastic Taylor Swift fan. Oxford’s corpus is continually updated and currently has 22 billion words. Words of the year in the past include 2022’s WOTY, ‘goblin mode’, and 2021’s WOTY, ‘Vax’.
According to the Oxford Monitor Corpus of English, the word ‘rizz’ was used in 2022, but nowhere near how much it was used in 2023. It formed over the internet and in gaming culture. It truly skyrocketed in June of this year after actor Tom Holland mentioned his own ‘rizz’ in a reported interview to which he said, “I have limited rizz.” The interview caused the creation and sharing of many memes by other people over the internet. The President of Oxford Languages, Casper Grathwohl, commented on this year’s WOTY saying that it is a reflection of the impact social media has had on language. Grathwohl partially credits the popularity of the word to the fact that it’s simply fun to say. Oxford’s 2023 WOTY is a fun one and shows the significance of the internet and memes in recent times.
This year, after over 32,000 votes, including many language experts, Oxford’s Word of the Year for 2023 is, “Rizz.” The word ‘rizz’ comes from the word ‘charisma’ and is the shortened form of it. It is a noun and means a charm and style or the ability to attract a partner. It can also be used as a verb to mean to chat up a person.
Oxford has a way to track word or phrase usage frequency called the Oxford Monitor Corpus. Runner Ups for the 2023 Word of the Year include ‘situationship’, which is a relationship that hasn’t been established or isn’t official, and ‘swiftie’, which is a very enthusiastic Taylor Swift fan. Oxford’s corpus is continually updated and currently has 22 billion words. Words of the year in the past include 2022’s WOTY, ‘goblin mode’, and 2021’s WOTY, ‘Vax’.
According to the Oxford Monitor Corpus of English, the word ‘rizz’ was used in 2022, but nowhere near how much it was used in 2023. It formed over the internet and in gaming culture. It truly skyrocketed in June of this year after actor Tom Holland mentioned his own ‘rizz’ in a reported interview to which he said, “I have limited rizz.” The interview caused the creation and sharing of many memes by other people over the internet. The President of Oxford Languages, Casper Grathwohl, commented on this year’s WOTY saying that it is a reflection of the impact social media has had on language. Grathwohl partially credits the popularity of the word to the fact that it’s simply fun to say. Oxford’s 2023 WOTY is a fun one and shows the significance of the internet and memes in recent times.