The Origins of "Google It": How a Search Engine Became a Verb

One way to find out is by looking at when it first appeared on television, which often reflects popular culture. According to Charles Arthur's book "Digital Wars," the first time “to Google” was used on TV was in an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

In the show, Buffy is a high school student who fights vampires and has a complicated love life. Her friend Willow was the one who first said “Google” as a verb. On October 15, 2002, in the fourth episode of the last season, Willow asked Buffy, “Have you Googled her yet?” Xander, another character, misunderstood and said, “She’s 17!” Willow explained, “It’s a search engine.”

Back then, Google wasn’t as dominant as it is now. It started in 1996 as a research project by Stanford students Larry Page and Sergey Brin and became a company in 1998. Google’s first patent was filed on August 31, 1999, for a “watermarking system and methodology for digital multimedia content.” Even in the early 2000s, Google had to compete with other search engines like Yahoo!

Becoming a Verb

Turning into a verb is a big deal for any brand. But Google was worried that its name might lose its uniqueness. In 2006, Google’s lawyers wrote a blog post to clarify how to use the word “Google” properly.

Despite these concerns, “to Google” became very popular. A few months after the Buffy episode, the American Dialect Society named “to Google” the most useful new word of 2002. It was soon added to Merriam-Webster and the Oxford English Dictionary.

Buffy’s Impact

The fact that Buffy the Vampire Slayer introduced “to Google” shows how influential the show was. Beyond its stories about vampires, Buffy captured the spirit of the early internet age. This mention on a popular TV show helped make “Google” a common verb.

In conclusion, the rise of “Google” from a search engine to a verb shows how technology changes our language and culture. And it all started with a smart character on a beloved TV show, proving once again how great Buffy was.