PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Every year, dictionaries choose a new slang term as its "word of the year." And every year, the choice baffles older generations. Take the 2023 choice from the publisher of the Oxford English Dictionary: rizz.
Don't know what it means? You must be a grown-up. "Rizz" has gained popularity online primarily among Gen Z.
We asked Dr. Grant Berry, an assistant professor of Spanish and cognitive science at Villanova University, where he teaches classes on linguistics, for some help.
"Rizz ... is a commonly used Gen Z term now. Tracing it back historically, the person who's credited with creating it — his name is Kai Cenat. He's a Twitch streamer that's very popular, who said that the term comes from social interactions with his friends," Berry said.
"Rizz is an individual's ability to, essentially, charm another individual. It's been said that the word is an abbreviation, or reduction, on the basis of the word "charisma," much like "fridge" is a reduction of the word "refrigerator." Whether that is the case or not is unclear. I know that Kai Cenat has said that that wasn't the point of origin when he was using the word with his friends, but I think having that as a potential point of connection is useful for people."
To hear more on the word's origins, how Oxford University Press determines its Word of the Year, and the role the internet plays in how languages develop, listen to the latest episode of KYW Newsradio In Depth.
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