‘NFT’ Chosen as 2021’s Collins English Dictionary ‘Word of the Year’

As 2021 nears its end, the firm Harpercollins, the publisher behind the printed and online Collins English Dictionary, has revealed “The Collins Word of the Year.” According to collinsdictionary.com, the word of the year is the abbreviation for non-fungible token, otherwise known as “NFT.”

Non-fungible token (NFT) collectibles have obtained a nod from the publishing team behind the Collins English Dictionary. The unabridged Collins English Dictionary is published by the company Harpercollins and was the first dictionary that was typeset using a computer database’s output.

On an annual basis, Collins likes to give a specific term the Word of the Year award, and this year the word “NFT” is the grand champion. “‘NFT’, the abbreviation of ‘non-fungible token’, the unique digital identifier that records ownership of a digital asset which has entered the mainstream and seen millions spent on the most sought-after images and videos,” the dictionary firm’s word of the year blog post explains. The post further adds:

It is one of three tech-based words to make Collins’ longer list of ten words of the year, which includes seven words brand new to Collinsdictionary.com.

Other words that were popular this year include words such as “metaverse” and “crypto.” The meaning of the word metaverse is “a proposed version of the internet comprising of three-dimensional virtual environments.” Collins English Dictionary says that the term “crypto” is an informal noun that is short for the word cryptocurrency, “a digital currency used for online purchases.”

Interestingly, in May 2019, the Associated Press (AP) or guidelines from the AP Stylebook, said writers, journalists, and academics should “avoid using the shorthand crypto, which can be confused with cryptography.” The AP suggestion has been largely ignored by mainstream media and dedicated cryptocurrency news publications.

Collinsdictionary.com has been a lot more liberal with editorial submissions and added crowd-sourced neologisms in 2012. Collins also publishes an official Scrabble word list dictionary, and roughly 6,500 words are based on social media terms, slang, and the latest technology.

What do you think about Collinsdictionary.com giving the term NFT the Word of the Year award? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.