Summary: "Truthiness," a word that
sometimes summarizes the public relations business, has been named the word of
the year for 2006.
A worthy new word to sum up 2006
By Associated Press |
December 10, 2006
SPRINGFIELD -- With no end to the controversy over the war in Iraq and political
wrangling and scandal in this midterm election year, thousands of people were
left trying to get to the truthiness of the matter.
That's
right. The truthiness.
Coined and defined by Comedy Central's political commentator Stephen Colbert as
"truth that comes from the gut, not books," the word truthiness best sums up
2006, according to an online survey by the Springfield dictionary publisher
Merriam-Webster.
Once derided by Colbert as the "word police" and a bunch of "wordinistas," the
folks at Merriam-Webster fully embrace his peculiar term, even if it can't be
found in the pages of their dictionary.
"We're at a point where what constitutes truth is a question on a lot of
people's minds, and truth has become up for grabs," said John Morse,
Merriam-Webster's president. "Truthiness is a playful way for us to think about
a very important issue."
Although the company will not say how many people voted, Morse said the website
had received tens of thousands of responses from people who answered the
question, "What word do you think sums up the year?"
Words like war, insurgent, sectarian, and corruption all made the Top 10 list.
But truthiness was the clear favorite, winning by a five-to-one count, Morse
said.
And winning, it seems, pleases Colbert. "Though I'm no fan of reference books
and their fact-based agendas, I am a fan of anyone who chooses to honor me," he
said in a statement e-mailed to the Associated Press.
