Word up, locavores

How about that? Oxford American Dictionary has chosen its Word of the Year. In a move that is the epitome of lazy blogging, I'm just going to share Mike Nizza's New York Times blog entry on the topic:

November 13, 2007, 9:04 am
Oxford’s Word of the Year, and Runners-Up
By Mike Nizza

Not everyone has joined the local food movement, but it has won over Google’s cafeteria, Barbara Kingsolver’s kitchen, writers at The New York Times, and now, leading wordsmiths at the Oxford American Dictionary, who are adding their lexicographic seal of approval:

The 2007 Word of the Year is (drum-roll please) locavore.

The past year saw the popularization of a trend in using locally grown ingredients, taking advantage of seasonally available foodstuffs that can be bought and prepared without the need for extra preservatives.

The movement has been building for years, from Chef Alice Waters’s pioneering work in the 1970’s to the opening of a Whole Foods grocery store in the middle of Manhattan. But the word locavore was coined only two years ago in San Francisco.

Falling just short of the top prize was the crucial word in a catchphrase for the ages, born at an appearance by Senator John Kerry at the University of Florida in September. In mid-scuffle with security guards, Andrew Meyer blurted out a verb formed from the brand name for an electric stun gun, and the dictionary authorities approve:

tase (or taze): to stun with a Taser

Other runners-up have also made prominent appearances in The Times, including colony collapse disorder, cougar (redefined), MRAP vehicle and bacn.

There are several more listed on Oxford’s blog. And if your appetite for new words and word uses is still unsated, the Dictionary Evangelist is kind enough to name some runners-up to the runners-up.