American Dialect Society
According to its web site, the American Dialect Society, founded in 1889, "is dedicated to the study of the English language in North America, and of other languages, or dialects of other languages, influencing it or influenced by it."
Words of the year
Since 1991, the society has designated one or more words to be the "word of the year," the year's most important word or expression in public discussion. They have been:
- 1990: bushlips
- 1991: mother of all
- 1992: not!
- 1993: information superhighway
- 1994: cyber, morph (to change form)
- 1995: web, newt (to act aggressively as a newcomer)
- 1996: Mom (as in soccer mom)
- 1997: millennium bug
- 1998: e-
- 1999: Y2K
- 2000: chad
- 2001: 9-11
- 2002: weapons of mass destruction
- 2003: metrosexual
- 2004: red state, blue state, purple state
The society also selects words in other categories that vary from year to year, such as Most Unnecessary, Most Outrageous, and Most Likely to Succeed.