All We Are Saying

NEW words are most happily received when they arrive without fanfare. When they appear with “ta-da!” or “look what I did!” and are touted as clever or cute, they feel like impositions on our time. We resent that they exist mostly to exalt their makers.

On the other hand, when we revel in new words it’s often for the little jokes and puns implanted by their coiners. We delight in coining them, too, especially goofy throwaway blends in which two words combine syllables and meanings to make one. (How about “bromance,” a strong relationship between two heterosexual men, which combines “bro,” from brother, and romance?)

A large part of the delight derives from the re-orientation that new words make possible. They are fantastical transportation — portkeys and improbability starships — into other cultures, workplaces, minds.

If you work in fields like politics, soldiering, science or technology, areas that frequently send new words bubbling up into the mainstream, it can seem strange to hear a normal day’s vocabulary talked about as if it were a novelty. For example, “bilat,” short for “bilateral,” is a workaday term to diplomats and journalists when they’re referring to a meeting of two sides, but it’s unusual to outsiders. The incongruity can bring a sense of déjà fatigué, the stage beyond déjà vu: you’ve not only seen it before, but it hardly seems worth remarking upon. It’s ordinary.

What follows is by no means a complete list of the words that took our attention this year, but rather a sampling from the thousands that endured long enough to find a place in the national conversation. Although many were not first said or written in 2007, they are nonetheless the tattoos, scars and medals that differentiate this year from any other.

astronaut diaper n.

A garment worn by astronauts when they’re in pressure suits and can’t get to a toilet. “We call them urine collection devices,” Mike Mullane, a retired astronaut, told The New York Times. The term was brought to popular attention when the astronaut Lisa M. Nowak was said to have been wearing one in February while she was driving across five states to confront a love rival. She denied she wore the diaper.

bacn n.

Impersonal e-mail messages that are nearly as annoying as spam but that you have chosen to receive: alerts, newsletters, automated reminders and the like. Popularized at the PodCamp conference in Pittsburgh in August.

boot camp flu n.

An adenovirus that is usually innocuous but in its latest strain has led to pneumonia and death. The virus often occurs among military recruits, who are susceptible to it because they live in close quarters under stressful conditions.

boom n.

Left of boom describes the “before” strategy of the United States military, including efforts to root out insurgents and prevent military attacks; right of boom describes the military’s “after” strategy, including efforts to minimize the effect of attacks with battle-hardened equipment and improved medical care.

chief sustainability officer n.

A business executive hired to meet environmental regulations and to find ways to profit through environmentally friendly products and services.

colony collapse disorder n.

A disease that has killed millions of pollinating bees nationwide and threatens to harm the nation’s agricultural output. Suspected culprits are a virus, mites and insecticides.

crowdsource v.

To use the skills or tools of a wide variety of freelancers, professional or amateur, paid or unpaid, to work on a single problem.

drama-price v.

To lower the price of a house so as to attract the attention of buyers. Also a noun.

e-mail bankruptcy n.

What you’re declaring when you choose to delete or ignore a very large number of e-mail messages after falling behind in reading and responding to them. This often includes sending a boilerplate message explaining that old messages will never receive a personal, specific response. Although the Stanford law professor Lawrence Lessig is often credited with coining this term, at best he can be said to have popularized it. Its first use was in 2002, two years before Mr. Lessig publicly declared his own e-mail bankruptcy.

earmarxist n.

A member of Congress who adds earmarks — money designated for pet projects — to legislation.

exploding ARM n.

An adjustable rate mortgage with rates that soon rise beyond a borrower’s ability to pay.

forever stamp n.

A United States postage stamp that will cover a first-class letter regardless of future price increases.

FTW interj.

For The Win. A bragging exclamation of approval, as in “K-Fed got the kids FTW,” or “I was able to open the file with Photoshop. FTW!!!” Originally part of the patter of the game show “Hollywood Squares” and later found in online games like World of Warcraft. Now largely used ironically and sarcastically.

global weirding n.

An increase in severe or unusual environmental activity often attributed to global warming. This includes freakish weather and new animal migration patterns.

gorno n.

A genre of movies that are gory almost to the point of being fetishistic. A blend of “gore” and “porno.”

-hawk suffix