GIF Tops YOLO as Oxford American Dictionary Word of the Year

After 25 years of fighting for relevancy, the GIF has received the acknowledgement it deserves -- as Oxford American Dictionaries' official 2012 word of the year.

Formally known as grapics interchange format, the GIF also physically redefined itself in 2012. What used to be an outdated format has appeared across the web as not only online entertainment, but political debates, sports coverage, fashion and art.

SEE ALSO: The History of GIFs

GIF celebrated a lexical milestone in 2012, gaining traction as a verb, not just a noun, Katherine Martin, head of the US dictionaries program at Oxford told BetaBeat in a statement. The GIF has evolved from a medium for pop-cultural…
Continue reading...

More About: Dictionary, GIF, Tech, YOLO