Google (verb) explained

Owing to the dominance of the Google search engine,[1] to google has become a transitive verb.[2] The neologism commonly refers to searching for information on the World Wide Web, typically using the Google search engine.[3] The American Dialect Society chose it as the "most useful word of 2002".[4] It was added to the Oxford English Dictionary on June 15, 2006,[5] and to the eleventh edition of the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary in July 2006.[6]

Etymology

The first recorded usage of google was as a gerund, on July 8, 1998, by Google co-founder Larry Page himself, who wrote on a mailing list: "Have fun and keep googling!".[7] Its earliest known use as an explicitly transitive verb on American television was in the "Help" episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (October 15, 2002), when Willow asked Buffy, "Have you googled her yet?".[8]

To prevent genericizing and potential loss of its trademark, Google has discouraged use of the word as a verb, particularly when used as a synonym for general web searching. On February 23, 2003,[9] Google sent a cease and desist letter to Paul McFedries, creator of Word Spy, a website that tracks neologisms.[10] In an article in The Washington Post, Frank Ahrens discussed the letter he received from a Google lawyer that demonstrated "appropriate" and "inappropriate" ways to use the verb "google".[11]

It was reported that, in response to this concern, lexicographers for the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary lowercased the actual entry for the word, google, while maintaining the capitalization of the search engine in their definition, "to use the Google search engine to seek online information" (a concern which did not deter the Oxford editors from preserving the history of both "cases").[12] On October 25, 2006, Google sent a request to the public requesting that "You should please only use 'Google' when you're actually referring to Google Inc. and our services."[13]

is something that cannot be "googled"i.e. it cannot be easily found using a web search engine, especially Google.[14] If a word or phrase is ungoogleable, it means it cannot be googled. In 2013, the Swedish Language Council attempted to include the Swedish version of the word in its list of new words, but Google objected to the definition not being specifically related to Google, and the council was forced to briefly remove it to avoid a legal confrontation with Google.[15] [16]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Burns . Enid . June 19, 2007 . Top 10 Search Providers, April 2007 . SearchEngineWatch.com . August 11, 2007 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070825045618/http://searchenginewatch.com/showPage.html?page=3626208 . August 25, 2007 .
  2. Web site: Google - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary . Merriam-webster.com . September 19, 2011.
  3. Web site: How Google Became a Verb . The Lingua File - The Language Blog . November 22, 2013.
  4. Web site: January 13, 2003 . 2002 Words of the Year . American Dialect Society . August 11, 2007 .
  5. Web site: Bylund . Anders . 2006-07-05 . To Google or Not to Google . 2024-04-20 . . en.
  6. Web site: Harris, Scott D. . Dictionary adds verb: to google . . July 7, 2006 . July 7, 2006 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070206065348/http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/business/14985574.htm . February 6, 2007 . dead.
  7. Web site: Page . Larry . Larry Page . July 8, 1998 . Google Search Engine: New Features . Google Friends Mailing List . August 6, 2007 . https://web.archive.org/web/19991009052012/http://www.egroups.com/group/google-friends/3.html . October 9, 1999 .
  8. Book: Arthur, Charles . Digital Wars: Apple, Google, Microsoft and the Battle for the Internet . 2012 . Kogan Page Publishers . 48 . 978-0-7494-6413-4 . registration . January 2, 2013 .
  9. Web site: McFedries . Paul . February 23, 2003 . Google trademark concerns . American Dialect Society Mailing List . August 11, 2007 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070703124408/http://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0302D&L=ads-l&P=R2450 . July 3, 2007 .
  10. News: Duffy . Jonathan . 2003-06-20 . Google calls in the 'language police' . 2024-04-20 . . en-GB.
  11. News: So Google Is No Brand X, but What Is 'Genericide'?. Frank Ahrens. August 5, 2006. August 5, 2006. The Washington Post.
  12. Web site: Noon . Chris . July 6, 2006 . Brin, Page See 'Google' Take Its Place In Dictionary . 2024-04-20 . Forbes . en.
  13. Web site: Krantz . Michael . October 25, 2006 . Do you "Google?" . The Official Google Blog . August 11, 2007 .
  14. News: Who, What, Why: What is 'ungoogleable'? . . . March 27, 2013 . April 5, 2013 .
  15. News: Google gets ungoogleable off Sweden's new word list . Sean . Fanning . . . March 26, 2013 . April 5, 2013 .
  16. News: 'Ungoogleable' removed from list of Swedish words after row over definition with Google: California based search engine giant asked Swedish to amend definition . Rob . Williams . . March 26, 2013 . April 5, 2013 .

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