History of LOL in Timeline

LOL, short for "laughing out loud," is a ubiquitous initialism in Internet slang. Primarily used to express amusement, it can also convey irony or double meanings. Originating on Usenet, its usage has expanded to diverse digital communication platforms and even spoken language. LOL belongs to a family of initialisms that represent bodily reactions, especially laughter, in textual form, including variations like LMAO and ROFL for more intense expressions of mirth. Its widespread adoption highlights its role in online communication and evolving language conventions.

May 8, 1989: Earliest Recorded Mention of LOL

On May 8, 1989, the earliest recorded mention of LOL in the contemporary meaning of "Laughing Out Loud" was made in a list of common online acronyms in the electronic newsletter FidoNews, according to the Oxford English Dictionary and linguist Ben Zimmer.

2003: College Students Study on Initialisms

In 2003, a study of college students by Naomi Baron found that the use of initialisms in computer-mediated communication (CMC), specifically in instant messaging, was actually lower than she had expected. Out of 2,185 transmissions, there were 90 initialisms in total; 76 were occurrences of LOL.

2003: Acronyms Growth

In 2003, the text mentions the list of acronyms was said to grow by the month, and they were collected along with emoticons and smileys into folk dictionaries.

March 2011: LOL Listed in Oxford English Dictionary

In March 2011, the Oxford English Dictionary included LOL in its listings.

March 24, 2011: LOL Formally Recognized in Oxford English Dictionary

On March 24, 2011, LOL, along with other acronyms, was formally recognized in an update of the Oxford English Dictionary. Research determined that the earliest recorded use of LOL was for "little old lady" in the 1960s.