The candidates have been released for Merriam-Webster’s 2007 Word of the Year. On it you’ll find such words as ‘apathetic’, ‘charlatan’, ‘pretentious’, ’subpoena’, and….’facebook’?

While ‘facebook’ would seem to not even be a word but a brand name, Merriam-Webster does in fact have an entry for it:

facebook

(verb) : To get on a facebook website.

Did you facebook today?

Uh, do you know anyone who says that? Cause I don’t. (To be fair, they also include I facebooked ________, which I have heard more times than I care to admit).

As this is a web vote is there any chance that anything but ‘facebook’ wins? The only other word I could see people voting for would be ‘w00t’ (yes, it’s there too), but ‘cruft’ and ‘babymoon’ – that sounds like an Animal Crossing prize.

[UPDATE]: And in a shocking upset, ‘w00t’ beats out ‘facebook’ for 2007 word of the year! Down goes ‘facebook’, down goes ‘facebook’!!

[via Valleywag]