“w00t” has been announced as the word of the year by Merriam-Webster. Site visitors were asked to vote on 20 words and phrases that were derived from the most frequently searched words. The runner-up was facebook, followed by conundrum, quixotic, blamestorm, sardoodledom, apathethic, Pecksniffian, hypocrite, and charlatan.
Some believe the word “w00t” came from the obsolete word “whoot” (“hoot”,) while others believe it originated from the bunnies in Quake III. We are not surprised that it took the top award, since we have seen the word cropping up in such items as shirts, buttons, tree ornaments, mousepads, and this cap for $14.89, designed for those who actually know what it means.