Word of the Year: "Truthiness"

truthiness (noun)
1 : "truth that comes from the gut, not books" (Stephen Colbert, Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report," October 2005)
2 : "the quality of preferring concepts or facts one wishes to be true, rather than concepts or facts known to be true" (American Dialect Society, January 2006)

This is the word of the year for 2006 according to Merriam-Webster, which originated on Comedy Central's, The Colbert Report in October, 2005.

As for Stephen Colbert's reaction: "Though I'm no fan of reference books and their fact-based agendas, I am a fan of anyone who chooses to honor me. And what an honor," he said. "Truthiness now joins the lexicographical pantheon with words like `squash,' `merry,' `crumpet,' `the,' `xylophone,' `circuitous,' `others' and others."