9/11 Tops Oxford University Press Word Survey

9/11 tops Oxford University Press word survey

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Last Updated: 2:28am GMT 05/12/2007

The word that sums up the mood of the 21st century so far is 9/11, according to a survey.

Although written in numerals, the date of the terror attacks on the United States emerged as the winner in a poll of more than 1,000 people by Oxford University Press.

The word "footprint", which has come to follow "carbon" or "ecological", came a close second.

The term "sex up", which found fame thanks to the BBC report by journalist Andrew Gilligan about British intelligence documents, was voted into third place.

Juliet Evans, a spokesman for Oxford University Press, said: "9/11 has become the immediate reference point for the terrorist attacks against America in 2001.

"Their repercussions have resonated throughout the years since.

"Many might consider them the catalyst for a chain of political and social events which have dominated the decade."