Every year the Oxford Dictionaries (www.oxforddictionaries.com) choose a word as ‘Word of the Year’. In 2013 the word ‘selfie’ emerged as the lucky word. Almost every Facebook user is familiar with the term. Which word will emerge as the most significant word to be awarded the Oxford Dictionaries 2014 word of the year? This was the question every logophile raised about two weeks ago. And the winner is ‘vape’.
Vape which was included in August 2014, is defined as “the process of inhaling and exhaling the vapour produced by an electronic cigarette or similar device”. An electronic cigarette is also called ‘vape pen’. Vape is an abbreviation of vapour or vapourise, the terms closely associated with the e-cigarette.
In an article entitled Why do people smoke that appeared in New Society (a weekly magazine in the UK) in 1983, the author, Rob Stepney, used the term ‘vaping’ for the first time: an inhaler or ‘non-combustible’ cigarette, looking much like the real thing, but…delivering a metered dose of nicotine vapour. (The new habit, if it catches on, would be known as vaping.)
It is used both as a verb and a noun. Look at these examples:
•After the word “vape” was chosen as the Oxford Dictionaries Word of Year, many young people must have started vaping.
• Have you ever used a vape (electronic cigarette)?
• It is quite surprising that many women have taken up vaping thinking it is less harmful than smoking.
Many new compound nouns with ‘vape’ and ‘vaping’ as modifiers have been coined in recent years: vape shop, vape lounge, vape fluid, vaping industry and American Vaping Association, among others.
Why was ‘vape’ chosen as the word of the year? The word has gained popularity in the English language in recent years. According to a lexicographer involved in the selection, “The growing popularity of e-cigarettes, combined with the legal cannabis industry, created a perfect storm.”
The other contenders for the Word of the Year title were ‘slacktivism’, ‘bae’, ‘normcore’ and ‘budtender’.
‘Slacktivism’ is a combination of the words ‘slacker’ and ‘activism’. It is defined as the act of showing support for a social or political cause via the internet by joining a campaign group or signing an online petition. The term has a negative connotation as it implies that slacktivists spend little time for and are not really committed to the cause they support.
‘Bae’, a term of endearment, refers to a boyfriend or girlfriend or romantic partner. In the 16th century the word was used to refer to sheep sounds. According to the Urban Dictionary, bae is an acronym for “before anyone else” or a shortened version of “babe”. The word has appeared in many rap songs like Pharrell and Miley Cyrus music video Come Get It, Bae.
‘Normcore’, a portmanteau word, is a combination of the words ‘normal’ and ‘hardcore’. It is defined as “a unisex fashion trend characterised by unpretentious, average-looking clothing”.
rayanal@yahoo.co.uk