'Google', the word, makes official transition from slang to proper English

Posted on : Fri, 07 Jul 2006 12:52:00 GMT | Author : Geoffrey Lewis

How many times have you scoffed at colleagues who used the word 'google' as a verb? Whenever you heard people saying “Look up a particular word in the encyclopedia or better still, google it”, “I googled the subject”, etc., you considered it a silly usage of the word. You thought it another addition to the huge vocabulary of slang that net surfers commonly use. Not anymore. The word now gets official recognition as a verb with the Merriam-Webster including it among new science and technology words.

The word 'google' is defined as a transitive verb meaning to use the Google search engine to look for information on the Internet. Merriam-Webster isn't the only one accepting 'google' in the dictionary. The Oxford English Dictionary's update on June 15 also includes the word. Australia's Macquarie dictionary listed the word in its 4th edition last year as an intransitive verb; e.g. to google a subject of research. The online Dictionary.com also lists an entry from December 2001, a contribution from the Free online Dictionary of Computing and defines it as a “world wide web search engine that indexes the greatest number of web pages…a free service that searches this index”.

With the word now gaining official acceptance, much like xerox, coke and other similar words, google may see the power of its brand name diluted. Much worse, it might even see rivals using the word to describe their offering.

The entry in Merriam Webster's dictionary shows the word's etymology (history/origin of words) as originating from 'Google' (note the capital 'G'), trademark for a search engine.

Analysts say this development was only to be expected and it reflects the huge popularity of Google, the wide and common usage by people from all walks of life.

The company's has reason to be concerned about the brand name being diluted. Its marketing team will now have to develop a way to ensure the wide usage does not encourage infringement of its trademark properties. When the word 'coke' became common and featured in dictionaries, Coca Cola's legal department made sure that competitors would still not use the word. They could however use the term 'cola drink' to describe their product so as not to conflict with the Coca Cola brand.

Other terms that arrive into the lexicon with 'google' include: biodiesel (a diesel-like fuel produced from vegetation), spyware, mouse potato (someone who spends much of their time using a PC and mouse) and ringtone.

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