The American Dialect Society selected tweet as the 2009 Word of the Year. (Google was their Word of the Decade.) I consider tweet to be a surprising choice, mostly because it wasn’t one of the 27 words on the ballot.

To consider why tweet became WoTY—and if it will remain part of our vocabulary—I looked at past winners to see what factors nudge a word up, up , up on the list all the way to Word of The Year.  What I noticed was that the Big Award goes, each year, to a “vocabulary item” that:

• Was in common use by us common folk throughout North American or had a high profile and got plenty of press even though you and I might have rarely used it.
• Was popular during the year in question. Some winners were special occasion words that, after a brief strut and fret upon the stage, were then heard no more.

Let’s take a look at a few recent Words of the Year:

Bailout (2008) rescue by the government of companies on the brink of failure and Subprime (2007) risky or less than ideal loan, mortgage or investment. Useful, both, but it’s hard to predict if these will last. They do, unhappily, still clutter up my morning newspaper. They’ll be in common usage as long as we need them, which I hope isn’t very.

Plutoed (2006)  to be demoted or devalued, as was the (former) planet Pluto. Use this word much? Me neither. Maybe science geeks still use it; many words do have their little niches. Trendy—although pleasantly pithy and punchy!

Truthiness (2005) preferring what one wishes to be true rather than relying on actual facts. Here’s a word that captured the headlines and news bites, but not the hearts and tongues of Americans. I, for one, have never heard truthiness in everyday conversation. Yet, in 2005, truthiness caught our attention and made its (and Stephen Colbert’s) point.

Chad was not a new word in 2000; it dates back to the 1940s. But after those little bitsy paper chips played such a critical role in the election of the President chad was thrust into the WoTY-limelight. The enormity of the occasion put it on everyone’s lips. It has since gone back to doing its everyday job, unlike….

Y2K (1999) A new word minted for a situation without parallel. We used it daily throughout ’98 and ‘99 to express a unique point in time—and a unique cause of anxiety. After its big occasion, Y2K went off into the footnotes of history books. Unless needed, words wither away.

e- (1998) as in e-mail, e-commerce and all other things e-.  See what I mean about words need to be needed? Suddenly, the need arose, and the need remains.  Try getting through a day without saying e-something.

web and newt (1995) Tied for the win!  I needn’t explain why web was #1. But newt? No, not a salamander. It’s a reference to Newt Gingrich and means to act aggressively as a newcomer. True, this was a long 15 years ago, but that makes my point: Web has lasted and is an integral part of the English language. Newt? Nope.

There are fashions in apparel, in music, in food—and there are definitely fashions in language. Words come, words go, words morph. Only a few Words of The Year have surpassed their trendiness to become classics. Whether tweet will still fit after a few years, we’ll just have to wait and see.