The 2015 word of the year is a 'face with tears of joy' emoji
The word of the year is not a word, but a picture.
In an excellent example of how digital technology is contributing to the rich tapestry of the English language, the 2015 world of the year as chosen by Oxford Dictionaries is not a word at all, but an emoji.
The smiling face with tears welling up in its eyes icon - known as "face with tears of joy" - was selected by word wranglers as the word or expression that best captured the ethos, mood and preoccupations of 2015.
A go-to for many millions of teenagers and millennials, emojis have exploded from digital communications into mainstream culture in recent years, aided by the rise of smartphones and chat apps like Whatsapp.
The tiny image of a crying face beat a host of slightly more conventional words to the top spot, claiming victory over a lexicon stretching across global affairs, politics, technology and pop culture.
According to the judges, "emoji have come to embody a core aspect of living in a digital world that is visually driven, emotionally expressive, and obsessively immediate".
Casper Grathwohl, president of Oxford Dictionaries, said:
Here is the Oxford Dictionaries shortlist for word of the year for 2015, plus their meanings:
Ad blocker: A piece of software designed to prevent advertisements from appearing on a web page.
Brexit: A term for the potential or hypothetical departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union.
Dark web: The part of the internet that is only accessible by means of special software, allowing users and website operators to remain anonymous or untraceable.
Face with tears of joy: The emoji symbolises crying with laughter.
Lumbersexual: A young urban man who cultivates an appearance and style of dress, typified by a beard and checked shirt, suggestive of a rugged outdoor lifestyle.
On fleek: Extremely good, attractive, or stylish. Originally used by a Vine user called Peaches Monroee, woman from Chicago really called Kayla Newman, in an online video in which she approvingly described her eyebrows as "on fleek".
Refugee: A person who has been forced to leave their country in order to escape war, persecution, or natural disaster.
Sharing economy: An economic system in which assets or services are shared between private individuals, either free or for a fee, typically by means of the internet.
They (singular): Used to refer to a person of unspecified sex.