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Repurpose
By Michelle | August 11, 2008
Repurpose: to give a new purpose or use to (Pronunciation: rē-ˈpər-pəs)
I saw this word online and thought, huh that’s a new one. Actually (if you hadn’t already noticed), I’m kind of a geek, and I love encountering new words. Japan’s version of this concept is encapsulated in their 3R initiative, but somehow (at face value) the “reuse” part of the 3R’s just doesn’t convey the same meaning as “repurpose” — because use can reuse something in the same capacity (for example, reusing plastic utensils), but to repurpose an object is to use it in a different capacity.
At the beginning of the new year it’s impossible to avoid the endless parade of lists — the best x of the past year, the worst x of the year, what’s in, what’s out, etc. etc. But although all this listing usually makes me want to tune out of mass media for the first half of January, I do really like taking a glance at the various words of the year.
I have to admit, the American Dialect Society put forth some pretty odd nominations for 2007. I mean, really. Who in their right mind would ever use the phrase “connectile dysfunction” (inability to gain or maintain an [internet] connection)? Or how about “earmarxist” (a congressman or senator who adds earmarks)? It’s as though they combed the year’s magazines and blogs and plucked out some of the most outlandish terms that people coined to be linguistically “cute.” But sometimes they’re not as bad. “Lifehack,” “sudoku,” and “podcast” all made it into the 2005 nomination list.
At then end of the day, records of words of the year give insight into the development of technology, popular political jargon, and current slang. Another one that’s more useful than anything the American Dialect Society’s come up with: Crapware (that’s of course the crap software that infects and slows down your PC).
Topics: Japan |