‘Selfie’ beats ‘twerk’ as word of the year

LONDON, Nov 20: ‘Selfie’ – a self portrait usually on a smartphone or webcam – was selected word of the year yesterday by the Oxford Dictionaries, based on a 17,000 percent rise in its usage from a year ago. ‘Selfie’ was chosen after it ‘gained momentum throughout the English-speaking world in 2013 as it evolved from a social media buzzword to mainstream shorthand for a self-portrait photograph’, Oxford Dictionaries said in a statement. (agencies)