Hiding in the City – Mobile Phone, 2012. © Liu Bolin.

Selfie is Oxford Word of the Year

Today Oxford Dictionaries announces selfie as their international Word of the Year 2013. Research conducted by Oxford found that the use of the word selfie has increased by 17,000% this year. Selfie beat other words such as twerk and schmeat.

Sign of the times indeed. The invisible self-portrait above by Chinese photographer Liu Bolin titled ‘Hiding in the City – Mobile Phone‘ seems apt reflection.

selfie noun, informal
(also selfy; plural selfies)

a photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically one taken with a smartphone or webcam and uploaded to a social media website.

The Selfie of the week in Southeast Asia was taken last Friday by Singapore PM Lee Hsein Loong with Malaysia PM Najib Razak.

Backstage with @NajibRazak, waiting to join our Commonwealth colleagues for the Opening Ceremony. – LHL #CHOGM pic.twitter.com/jXCWDzZ1R1

— Lee Hsien Loong (@leehsienloong) November 15, 2013

The oil painting Portrait of a Man in a Turban by Jan van Eyck in 1433 is said to be one of the earliest known self-portraits.

Portrait of a Man in a Turban by Jan van Eyck in 1433 is said to be one of the earliest known self-portraits. © National Gallery, London