New York, Dec 30 (IANS): The term "doggos" - internetspeak for "dogs" - has spread across social media in such proportion that the dictionary deciders at Merriam-Webster have taken note of the nonword and deemed it a word they will be watching in 2018.

Twitter is awash with pictures of "doggos" meaning "adorable, photogenic dogs looking pensive, jubilant and just plain cute".

The term most often used alongside pictures of "social-media users' good boys and girls", has gotten so popular that Merriam-Webster said on its website that its editors deemed "doggo" a "Word We're Watching" in 2018.

Social-media users have enthusiastically responded to this news, tweeting out pics of their own adorable "doggos", the New york Post reported.

As MW points out, the word "doggo" originated not online, but in 19th-century slang and literature. To "lie doggo" meant to hide or fly under the radar, like a dozing dog.

In the 20th century, the word became a loose synonym for dog, similar to how it's being used today.

Mentions of "doggos" have exploded lately, which the dictionary site credits to the popular Twitter account WeRateDogs.

The term has not met MW's entry criteria yet, but it is on watch.