Oxford Dictionaries has announced the 2015 Word of the Year, which is actually an emoji rather than a traditional word — this emoji specifically:
Oxford Dictionaries choose the emoji because it “best reflected the ethos, mood, and preoccupations of 2015” due to a sharp rise in usage between 2014 and 2015 (looking at the United Kingdom and United States specifically).
An emoji is “a small digital image or icon used to express an idea or emotion in electronic communication” and comes from Japanese. According to Oxford Dictionaries, emojis “have been embraced as a nuanced form of expression, and one which can cross language barriers.”
Finalists for the 2015 Word of the Year included ad blocker, on fleek, refugee, and singular they.
