"w00t," an expression of joy coined by online gamers, was crowned word of the year on Tuesday by the publisher of a leading U.S. dictionary. Massachusetts-based Merriam-Webster Inc. said "w00t" -- typically spelled with two zeros -- reflects a new direction in the American language led by a generation raised on video games and cell phone text-messaging. It's like saying "yay," the dictionary said. "It could be after a triumph or for no reason at all," Merriam-Webster said. Visitors to Merriam-Webster's Web site were invited to vote for one of 20 words and phrases culled from the most frequently looked-up words on the site and submitted by readers. Runner-up was "facebook" as a new verb meaning to add someone to a list of friends on the Web site Facebook.com or to search for people on the social networking site. Merriam-Webster President John Morse said "w00t" reflected the growing use of numeric keyboards to type words.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071212/wr_nm/usa_language_dc;_ylt=AgOYbyVHpW3r39qm9oMK8YcjtBAF
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