Oxford Word Of The Year: Locavore
Locavore …. clearly like carnivore, or omnivore …. something you eat …. a habit more than a diet …. but what’s a “Loc”?
It ends up that the Loc means, roughly, “Location” as the word of the year’s definition is that “local residents should try to eat only food grown or produced within a 100-mile radius.” The word was coined only a few years ago and is part of a larger trend in environmentally-friendly eating.
I remember hearing about this concept and really thinking it was a good idea, but for an idea to get any “traction” it needs to be talked about – so it needs a name that everyone can recognize. It is interesting that it only takes a few years and a trendy idea now to get in the Oxford Dictionary, but staying current is probably one of the biggest issues for a traditionally print publication nowadays.
Locavore beat out “mumblecore” (which we got really familiar with at Spout), “tase” (or “taze”), “upcycling” and “previvor” (among others).
So try to use it in a sentence today – hmmm, like “I wonder where locavores get fresh cranberries and vegetables for Thanksgiving in the northern states?”
