# Google (verb)

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{{Short description|Transitive verb, to search using Google}}
{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Google'' (verb)}}
{{about|the verb|the use of the verb in cricket|Googly|other uses|Google (disambiguation)}}
{{redirect|Googled|the book of the same name|Googled: The End of the World as We Know It}}
{{wiktionary|google}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2021}}
thumb|The act of using an online search engine is known colloquially as ''googling''.
Owing to the dominance of the [Google search engine](/source/Google_Search),<ref>{{cite web |last=Burns |first=Enid |date=June 19, 2007 |url=http://searchenginewatch.com/showPage.html?page=3626208 |title=Top 10 Search Providers, April 2007 |publisher=SearchEngineWatch.com |access-date=August 11, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070825045618/http://searchenginewatch.com/showPage.html?page=3626208 |archive-date=August 25, 2007 }}</ref> to '''''google''''' has become a [transitive verb](/source/transitive_verb).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/google |title=Google - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary |publisher=Merriam-webster.com |access-date=September 19, 2011}}</ref> The [neologism](/source/neologism) commonly refers to searching for information on the [World Wide Web](/source/World_Wide_Web), typically using the Google [search engine](/source/search_engine).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thelinguafile.com/2013/02/how-google-became-verb.html |title=How Google Became a Verb |publisher=The Lingua File - The Language Blog |access-date=November 22, 2013}}</ref> The [American Dialect Society](/source/American_Dialect_Society) chose it as the "most useful word of 2002".<ref>{{cite web |date=January 13, 2003 |url=http://www.americandialect.org/index.php/amerdial/2002_words_of_the_y/ |title=2002 Words of the Year |publisher=American Dialect Society |access-date=August 11, 2007 }}</ref> It was added to the ''[Oxford English Dictionary](/source/Oxford_English_Dictionary)'' on June 15, 2006,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bylund |first=Anders |date=2006-07-05 |title=To Google or Not to Google |url=https://www.fool.com/investing/dividends-income/2006/07/05/to-google-or-not-to-google.aspx |access-date=2024-04-20 |website=[The Motley Fool](/source/The_Motley_Fool) |language=en}}</ref> and to the eleventh edition of the ''[Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary](/source/Merriam-Webster)'' in July 2006.<ref>{{cite web |author=Harris, Scott D. |url=http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/business/14985574.htm |title=Dictionary adds verb: to google |work=[San Jose Mercury News](/source/San_Jose_Mercury_News) |date=July 7, 2006 |access-date=July 7, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070206065348/http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/business/14985574.htm |archive-date=February 6, 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Etymology==
The first recorded usage of ''google'' was as a [gerund](/source/gerund), on July 8, 1998, by [Google](/source/Google) co-founder [Larry Page](/source/Larry_Page) himself, who wrote on a mailing list: "Have fun and keep googling!".<ref>{{cite web |last=Page |first=Larry |author-link=Larry Page |date=July 8, 1998 |url=http://www.egroups.com/group/google-friends/3.html |title=Google Search Engine: New Features |publisher=Google Friends Mailing List |access-date=August 6, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19991009052012/http://www.egroups.com/group/google-friends/3.html |archive-date=October 9, 1999 }}</ref> Its earliest known use as an explicitly transitive verb on American television was in the "[Help](/source/Help_(Buffy_the_Vampire_Slayer))" episode of ''[Buffy the Vampire Slayer](/source/Buffy_the_Vampire_Slayer)'' (October 15, 2002), when [Willow](/source/Willow_Rosenberg) asked [Buffy](/source/Buffy_Summers), "Have you googled her yet?".<ref>{{Cite book |title=Digital Wars: Apple, Google, Microsoft and the Battle for the Internet |last=Arthur |first=Charles |year=2012 |publisher=Kogan Page Publishers |page=[https://archive.org/details/digitalwarsapple0000arth/page/48 48] |isbn=978-0-7494-6413-4 |url=https://archive.org/details/digitalwarsapple0000arth |url-access=registration |access-date=January 2, 2013 }}</ref>

To prevent [genericizing](/source/Generic_trademark) and potential loss of its [trademark](/source/trademark), Google has discouraged use of the word as a verb, particularly when used as a synonym for general web searching. On February 23, 2003,<ref>{{cite web|last=McFedries |first=Paul |date=February 23, 2003 |url=http://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0302D&L=ads-l&P=R2450 |title=Google trademark concerns |publisher=American Dialect Society Mailing List |access-date=August 11, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070703124408/http://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0302D&L=ads-l&P=R2450 |archive-date=July 3, 2007 }}</ref> Google sent a [cease and desist](/source/cease_and_desist) letter to Paul McFedries, creator of Word Spy, a website that tracks [neologism](/source/neologism)s.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Duffy |first=Jonathan |date=2003-06-20 |title=Google calls in the 'language police' |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/3006486.stm |access-date=2024-04-20 |work=[BBC News](/source/BBC_News) |language=en-GB}}</ref> In an article in ''[The Washington Post](/source/The_Washington_Post)'', Frank Ahrens discussed the letter he received from a Google lawyer that demonstrated "appropriate" and "inappropriate" ways to use the verb "google".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/04/AR2006080401536.html|title=So Google Is No Brand X, but What Is 'Genericide'?|author=Frank Ahrens|date=August 5, 2006|access-date=August 5, 2006|newspaper=[The Washington Post](/source/The_Washington_Post)}}</ref>

It was reported that, in response to this concern, [lexicographer](/source/lexicographer)s for the ''Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary'' turned to lowercase the actual entry of the word, ''google.'' They maintained the capitalization of the search engine in their definition, "to use the [Google search engine](/source/Google_Search) to seek online information" (a concern which did not deter the Oxford editors from preserving the history of both "cases").<ref>{{Cite web |last=Noon |first=Chris |date=July 6, 2006 |title=Brin, Page See 'Google' Take Its Place In Dictionary |url=https://www.forbes.com/2006/07/06/page-brin-google-cx_cn_0706autofacescan01.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250125171421/https://www.forbes.com/2006/07/06/page-brin-google-cx_cn_0706autofacescan01.html |archive-date=2025-01-25 |access-date=2025-08-19 |website=Forbes |language=en}}</ref> On October 25, 2006, Google sent a request to the public requesting that "You should please only use 'Google' when you're actually referring to Google Inc. and our services."<ref>{{cite web |last=Krantz |first=Michael |date=October 25, 2006 |url=https://googleblog.blogspot.com/2006/10/do-you-google.html |title=Do you "Google?" |publisher=The Official Google Blog |access-date=August 11, 2007 }}</ref>

{{vanchor|Ungoogleable}} means it is something that cannot be "googled"{{Snd}}i.e. it cannot be easily found using a web search engine, especially Google.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21956743 | title=Who, What, Why: What is 'ungoogleable'? | publisher=[BBC](/source/BBC) |work=[BBC News Magazine](/source/BBC_News_Magazine) | date=March 27, 2013 | access-date=April 5, 2013 }}</ref> If a word or phrase is ''ungoogleable'', it means it cannot be googled. In 2013, the [Swedish Language Council](/source/Swedish_Language_Council) attempted to include the [Swedish](/source/Swedish_language) version of the word ({{ill|Ogooglebar|sv|lt={{lang|sv|Ogooglebar|cat=no}}}}) in its list of new words, but Google objected to the definition not being specifically related to Google, and the council was forced to remove it immediately to avoid a legal confrontation with Google.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21944834 | title=Google gets ungoogleable off Sweden's new word list | first=Sean | last=Fanning | publisher=[BBC](/source/BBC) | work=[BBC News](/source/BBC_News) | date=March 26, 2013 | access-date=April 5, 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ungoogleable-removed-from-list-of-swedish-words-after-row-over-definition-with-google-8550096.html | title='Ungoogleable' removed from list of Swedish words after row over definition with Google: California based search engine giant asked Swedish to amend definition | first=Rob | last=Williams | newspaper=[The Independent](/source/The_Independent) | date=March 26, 2013 | access-date=April 5, 2013 }}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Internet}}
* {{Section link|grep#Usage as a verb}}<!--lowercase-->
* [Photoshop (verb)](/source/Photoshop_(verb)), a similar neologism referring to digital photo editing

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Google LLC}}

Category:Google
Category:Verbs
Category:Internet terminology
Category:Internet search
Category:1998 neologisms
Category:Internet properties established in 1998

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Google (verb)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_(verb)) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_(verb)?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.