'Google' Named Top Word of Past Decade

Beating out such luminaries as "blog," "green," and "war on terror," "Google" was named the top word of the decade by the American Dialect Society. Last year’s winner was "tweet." This is further proof that some people have an inordinate amount of free time on their hands.

Of course, for every shiny new word that became a permanent dictionary addition, there was one that faded into obscurity. Called "stunt words" by lexicographers, some words just don't stand the test of time. These fleeting words include "muggle" (a word popularized in 2000 from Harry Potter, meaning a mundane, unimaginative person) and "plutoed" (2006's word meaning to be demoted or devalued, like the erstwhile planet). Maybe the most forgettable word of the year in American Dialect Society history: 1990's "bushlips."

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