Word of the Year From Oxford Dictionaries Isn't a Word

Oxford Dictionaries, part of Oxford University Press, on Monday announced its annual Word of the Year. For 2015, it's not a word, but rather an emoji -- in this case the emoji called “Face With Tears of Joy” (at right). Why was it selected? “Emojis (the plural can be either emoji or emojis) have been around since the late 1990s, but 2015 saw their use, and use of the word ‘emoji,’ increase hugely,” said a statement from Oxford. Among the words or phrases that were also considered: “refugee,” “dark web” and “sharing economy.”