Oxford's Word of the Year for 2024 is 'brain rot' - what is it and where does it come from?

Oxford University Press, publisher of the Oxford English Dictionary, has just released its 2024 Word of the Year. 

And it's not one you may have expected.

Overall, there was a shortlist of six words that language experts created to reflect the moods and conversations that helped shape the past year—and coming in at the top is 'brain rot'. 

It beat other words like 'demure', 'dynamic pricing', 'lore', 'romantasy' and 'slop'. 

The 2024 Word of the Year was chosen following a two-week public vote with more than 37,000 participants. 

Where did 'brain rot' come from? 

The dictionary defines 'brain rot' as "the supposed deterioration of a person's mental or intellectual state", mostly resulting from "overconsumption of material considered to be trivial or unchallenging". 

While it sounds like a new word, the earliest recorded use of 'brain rot' was actually in 1854 in American naturalist Henry David Thoreau's book Walden, shared Oxford University Press on Dec 2. 

The book reported Henry's experiences of living in a simple lifestyle in the natural world.

His conclusions criticised society's tendency to devalue complex ideas, or those that can be interpreted in several ways, in favour of simpler ones. He also viewed this as a general decline in mental and intellectual effort. 

In today's context, the word is viewed slightly differently thanks to the digital age. 

Over the past year, it has gained traction on social media platforms among Gen Zs and Gen Alphas, and is used in reference to the negative impact of consuming too much online content deemed of poor quality. 

It has also been "strongly associated" with certain kinds of content, especially those that are of a humorous or self-deprecating nature. 

One example, the dictionary noted, is Alexey Gerasimov's viral 'Skibidi Toilet' animated web series that features humanoid toilets. His content has given rise to emerging 'brain rot language' such as 'skibidi', which means something nonsensical. 

Collins Dictionary has its own word of the year and it is 'brat'. 

Defined as someone with a "confident, independent and hedonistic attitude", the word was inspired by singer-songwriter Charli XCX's album of the same name that was released in June this year. 

Other words featured on Collins Dictionary's 2024 list include 'era' — inspired by singer-songwriter Taylor Swift's tour — and 'delulu', a diminutive of the word delusional. 

20 years of words 

Oxford Word of the Year started in 2004 and has highlighted how the English language has shaped our conversations and reflects the cultural shifts, patterns and sentiments of a particular year, shared an article by Oxford University Press on Oct 1. 

Past words include 'podcast' in 2005, 'omnishambles' in 2012 and 'youthquake' in 2017. 

Last year's word of the year was 'rizz', which is believed to be a shortened form of the word 'charisma'.

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melissateo@asiaone.com