{"id":15547,"date":"2022-12-05T20:18:21","date_gmt":"2022-12-05T20:18:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nftandcrypto-news.com\/crypto\/metaverse-comes-in-second-place-for-oxfords-word-of-the-year\/"},"modified":"2022-12-05T20:18:23","modified_gmt":"2022-12-05T20:18:23","slug":"metaverse-comes-in-second-place-for-oxfords-word-of-the-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nftandcrypto-news.com\/crypto\/metaverse-comes-in-second-place-for-oxfords-word-of-the-year\/","title":{"rendered":"Metaverse comes in second place for Oxford’s word of the year"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The Oxford University Press team chose ‘metaverse\u2019 to come in as a runner-up to \u2018Goblin mode\u2019 for the word of the year in 2022.<\/p>\n

In a Dec. 4 announcement, Oxford Languages said the viral term \u2018Goblin mode\u2019 had beat out \u2018metaverse\u2019 and millions of other words to become the team\u2019s 2022 word of the year. According to Oxford\u2019s research, usage of the term metaverse \u201cincreased almost fourfold from the previous year in the Oxford Corpus,\u201d driven in part by Facebook\u2019s rebranding to Meta in October 2021. <\/p>\n

Metaverse lost first place to \u2018Goblin mode,\u2019 a phrase that went viral in February, which \u201ccaptured the prevailing mood of individuals who rejected the idea of returning to \u2018normal life\u2019\u201d following COVID lockdowns being lifted in many areas. #IStandWith took third place in the contest, driven by hashtags on social media including #IStandWithUkraine following Russia\u2019s invasion of the country in February. <\/p>\n

\u201cAs we grapple with relatively new concepts like hybrid working in the virtual reality space, metaverse is particularly pertinent to debates about the ethics and feasibility of an entirely online future,” said Oxford Languages. “A worthy opponent to \u2018goblin mode\u2019, \u2018metaverse\u2019 gained voting traction with crypto communities and publications. We see the term continue to grow in use as more voices join the debate about the sustainability and viability of its future.”<\/p>\n

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The \u2018goblin community\u2019 has spoken! <\/p>\n

We\u2019re pleased to announce goblin mode as the #OxfordWOTY<\/a> 2022. <\/p>\n

Read more about this year\u2019s winning choice here #TeamGoblinMode<\/a>: https:\/\/t.co\/NmC2UYau3U pic.twitter.com\/yqQ9eIlIeQ<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Oxford University Press (@OxUniPress) December 5, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In the video pitch for \u2018metaverse\u2019 released in November, Oxford said the term dated back to \u201cthe science fiction novel Snow Crash by Neil Stephenson,\u201d released in 1992. More than 300,000 people cast votes resulting in the selection of \u2018Goblin mode\u2019 for first palace and metaverse for second. <\/p>\n

Related: <\/em><\/strong>The metaverse is happening without Meta’s permission<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2018NFT\u2019, or nonfungible token, won Collins Dictionary\u2019s contest for the word of 2021, while \u2018vax\u2019 took first place at Oxford the same year. The results seemingly represent a change in social media fervor around the crypto-related terms, which was reportedly falling in the first quarter of 2022.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n