For the First Time, an Emoji Has Been Named the Most Popular Word of the Year The heart emoji appears billions of times per day across blogs, Twitter, Facebook and major news outlets, according to a study by the Global Language Monitor, an Austin-based analytics firm.

By Geoff Weiss

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

In a linguistic first, the most popular word of 2014 isn't a word at all, it turns out, but rather the heart emoji -- illustrating the ways in which mobile icons have increasingly infiltrated our means of communication.

This conclusion comes care of Global Language Monitor (GLM), an Austin, Texas-based language analysis firm, which scoured blogs, Twitter, Facebook and 250,000 global news outlets to determine the year's most popular words.

While GLM has conducted its study annually for 15 years, this is the first time that an emoji has taken the cake. They found that the heart emoji appears billions of times per day across the globe, reports Mail Online.

"The English Language is now undergoing a remarkable transformation unlike any in its 1,400 year history," said Paul Payack, president of GLM, in a statement. "Its system of writing, the alphabet, is gaining characters at amazing rate."

Related: Lazy Customers Can Now Search Yelp Using Emojis

Today, there are 722 emojis in existence, with an additional 250 to be made available over the course of the next year. Emojis are regulated by the Unicode Consortium, a nonprofit organization that governs the representation of text in software products.

In terms of popularity, the heart emoji was followed by "hashtag' and then "vape' -- which was also named Oxford Dictionaries' 2014 Word of the Year. The list was rounded out by "blood moon,' "nano,' "photobomb,' "caliphate,' "white privilege,' "bae' and "bash tag.'

Last year's winner for most popular word was similarly bizarre. The honor was claimed by "404,' one of the most common error messages found on the web.

In addition to words, GLM also awarded the most popular name in 2014, "Ebola,' as well as the year's most popular phrase, "Hands up, don't shoot,' as chanted by protesters in Ferguson, MO.

Related: Why 'No' is the Most Important Word You'll Ever Say

Geoff Weiss

Former Staff Writer

Geoff Weiss is a former staff writer at Entrepreneur.com.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Editor's Pick

Business News

JPMorgan Shuts Down Internal Message Board Comments After Employees React to Return-to-Office Mandate

Employees were given the option to leave comments about the RTO mandate with their first and last names on display — and they did not hold back.

Innovation

4 Ways Market Leaders Use Innovation to Foster Business Growth

Forward-thinkers constantly strive to diversify and streamline their products and services, turning novelties into commodities desired by many.

Business Ideas

70 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2025

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2025.

Business News

The FTC Is Readying a Case Against the Largest U.S. Apartment Landlord. Here's Why.

The issue is with fees that allegedly weren't disclosed in advertisements for rental units.

Franchise

The 10 Best Franchises to Open in 2018

Here's everything you need to know about the startup costs, training and investment opportunities from the top 10 companies in our Franchise 500.

Business Culture

What Every Business Leader Can Learn From Dutch Bros' People-First Culture

The coffee chain is turning employees into owners of the customer experience.