It is that time of the year when the New Oxford American Dictionary prepares for the holidays by releasing its Word of the Year.  The 2008 Word of the Year is “hypermiling”, which means attempting to maximize gas mileage by making fuel conserving adjustments to one’s car and one’s driving techniques.

What does hypermiling have to do with ageinista ?  Nothing, really, but stay with me.  A finalist for the 2008 word of the year is “frugalista”, defined as a person who leads a frugal lifestyle but stays fashionable and healthy by swapping clothes, buying secondhand, and growing their own produce, etc.

William Safire provides a history of using ista, the Spanish version of the English suffix ist in “Frugalista” in the November 23, New York Times.  According to Safire, Ista was first used with an English noun  to create the word fashionista in 1993 when Stephen Fried used it in “Thing of Beauty”, a biography of spermodel Gia.  Today fashionista  most often means “one who closely follows fashion” or sometimes the negative “clotheshorse.”

What does frugalista have to do with ageinista ?  I like the word possibilities of ista  and propose using it to create a new word,ageinista, to describe someone who embraces the positive aspects of aging.  An ageinista celebrates the wisdom and experience that comes with maturity.  Rather than fighting and denying aging, an ageinista embraces the gifts that come over time.  Staying active, taking care of the mind, body and spirit, and living with purpose are hallmarks of an ageinista.

How would you describe an ageinista? How do you live like an ageinista?