The Committee’s choice of Word of the Year 2011 is:
burqini |
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noun a swimsuit designed for Muslim women, comprising leggings and a tunic top with a hood. [Trademark; burq(a) + (bik)ini] |
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Burqini seemed to be a very cute and successful coinage and what lay behind it was a fusion of culture, in an area of life which is so Australian… life on the beach.” – Susan Butler, Editor of Macquarie Dictionary
“As a wordsmith I am delighted by a word that has a Q without U and ends with an I.” – David Astle
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The Committee would like to give honourable mention to:
patchwork economy
noun an economy characterised by areas of growth reflecting regions which are booming, and areas of decline reflecting regions which are less prosperous.
[patchwork + economy]
dairyness
noun the productivity of a cow in terms of the quality and quantity of its milk, assessed by udder shape and size, pedigree, genomic screening, etc.; used as a judging criterion in competitions.
announceable
noun Politics an item made public by a government, usually in a media release, as good publicity for the government or as a distraction from bad publicity.
The Macquarie Dictionary Word of the Year Committee comprises:
Dr Michael Spence, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sydney
Professor Stephen Garton, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, University of Sydney
David Astle, crossword compiler and word enthusiast
Les Murray, renowned Australian poet
Susan Butler, Publisher of the Macquarie Dictionary
The People’s Choice Award for 2011 goes to:
fracking |
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noun (in oil and gas mining) a process by which fractures are made in rock by the application under pressure of chemically treated water mixed with sand to natural or man-made openings in order to gain access to oil or gas supplies, considered by some to be associated with groundwater contamination; hydraulic fracturing. [shortened form of fracturing]
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Category winners:
| Agriculture | dairyness |
| Arts | beatboxing |
| Business | patchwork economy |
| Colloquial | devo |
| Communications | disaster porn |
| Crops | superfruit |
| Eating and drinking | food porn |
| Environment | fracking |
| Fashion | burqini |
| General Interest | photobomb |
| Health | food coma |
| Internet | planking |
| Politics | soy cap intelligentsia |
| Social Interest | party house |
| Sport | stair climb |
| Technology | jailbreak |
Download the pdf below to view all the entries considered for Word of the Year 2011.
