Are You An Infovore?

Truth be told many reading this post must have come across the username @infovore once or twice on steemit, have you stopped long enough to know what it means? I know I have not, I always assume most usernames here are just made up for the fun of it or only mean something to the owner.



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Not until today when I came across an article online where someone was described as an infovore.

First thing that came to mind was that is the username of a popular steemian :)

What is an infovore?

A person who craves information and constantly accesses it on digital devices.

This was a definition from Macquarie Dictionary for the year 2013. The Macquarie Dictionary Online is updated annually, making it the most up-to-date Australian dictionary and thesaurus available.

Each year the Macquarie Dictionary names shortlist the Word of the Year. This is a word that had contributed the language. In 2013 the word infovore was declared by the committee the winner. The committee is made up of academics and wordsmiths who chooses the best new words of the year.

The 2015 word of the year winner is captain's call.

noun a decision made by a political or business leader without consultation with colleagues.

This is a first! The people and the Committee have agreed that captain’s call is the Word of the Year. Clearly, this term has resonated with Australians, possibly because it touches on two of our national passions – cricket and politics – and so has been nominated as the most valuable contribution to Australian English in 2015. –SUSAN BUTLER, THE EDITOR

You could check previous years words and current one on their website here: https://www.macquariedictionary.com.au/resources/view/word/of/the/year/

The Anatomy of the word

The word results as a result of blending of two words, "info" with a part of another word "vore."

Info is from information while vore is from the Latin vorare (“to devour”). That literally translates to devour information. Pretty cool if you ask me.



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Blends or portmanteaus are often playful and ephemeral. For instance, brunch (a blend of breakfast and lunch) emerged in the early 20th century to refer facetiously to the meal eaten by those too lazy to wake up in time for breakfast.

Further reading sources:1,2,3.

Thank you steemit and all the infovores here for making us learn new things daily.

Have a wonderful week.