New Words for the Dictionary
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Vuvuzela: Now in the dictionary
by Mike Krumboltz
The English language is always evolving. There was a time when words like email, x-ray, and d'oh were nowhere to be found in the dictionary. Today, we add a few more new words to the tome.
The bookworms behind the Oxford Dictionary of English recently released a list of 2,000 or so new words that will be added to their next edition. Some of the new words include staycation, social media, and the groan-inducing chillax.
The list sparked massive interest on the Web and, we can safely assume, a lot of questions from folks who don't know a staycation from a vacation, or a bromance from a romance. (FYI: A staycation is like a vacation, but you stay at home and save money. And a bromance is a "close but non-sexual relationship between two men.")
Perhaps the most high-profile word to be added to the dictionary this year is vuvuzela. For those who slept through the World Cup, a vuvuzela is the one-note plastic horn that creates a horrendously annoying sound. That's our definition. The official one, via the Oxford Dictionary of English, is a bit more balanced: "A long plastic instrument, in the shape of a trumpet, which makes a very loud noise when you blow it and is popular with football fans in South Africa."
Some other popular additions include frenemy ("a person with whom one is friendly despite a fundamental dislike or rivalry"), cheeseball ("lacking taste, style or originality"), and wardrobe malfunction ("an instance of a person accidentally exposing an intimate part of their body as result of an article of clothing slipping out of position.")
Frankly, we're amazed it took so long for that last term to make it into the dictionary. Thanks to Janet Jackson, Paris Hilton, and other Hollywood stars, it's been part of the public discourse for years.
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Oxford dictionary says no to ‘faboosh’ words like ‘cankle’
Other words denied include ‘tanorexia,’ ‘clickjacking’ and ‘twetiquette’LONDON — Are you a tanorexic partial to a bit of flashpacking, but hate your cankles?
If you're not lost for words already then you are either ahead of the linguistic curve or privy to the secrets of a little-known vault at the Oxford University Press.
There, filed away and stored alphabetically on small white cards are the words submitted to but deemed unsuitable for inclusion in the Oxford English Dictionary (OED).
The thousands of words denied a place in the dictionary, which describes itself as the definitive record of the English language, are consigned to the vault because they are either too odd or have not gained enough currency in common usage.
"They are simply words that we have not included in our dictionary up until this point because we have not yet seen sufficient evidence of their usage," Fiona Mooring, senior assistant editor of the OED's new words group told Reuters in an e-mail.
"Tanorexia", an obsession with getting a tan, "flashpacking", glamorous backpacking, and "cankles", thick ankles are just three of the quirky words on record in the non-word vault.
A new word is not included in the OED unless it has "caught on". To make the cut, there must be several independent examples of the word in writing over a "reasonable" length of time.
"The exact time-span and number of examples may vary: for instance, one word may be included on the evidence of only a few examples, spread out over a long period of time, while another may gather momentum very quickly", said Mooring.
Until they win over the dictionary's editorial team, "ham", a non-Spam e-mail, and "prehab", preventive rehab, must stay in linguistic limbo.
Some of the dormant words date back to before 1918, when "Lord of The Rings" author J.R.R. Tolkien was editor of the OED.
Once a word has earned its place in the dictionary, it is not removed, even if it drops out of use.
The following are a sample of unused words from the vault:
Burqini: a swimsuit intended to comply with Islamic standards of modesty in dress
Cankle: thick ankle
Chimping: the action or practice of immediately reviewing each shot taken using a digital camera
Chin-strap: a type of beard, shaped in a narrow strip along the jawline
Clickjacking: the use of hidden buttons on a website to trick users into performing actions they do not intend, such as revealing personal information or switching on webcams
Faboosh: fabulous
Flashpacking: luxurious backpacking
Glamping: glamorous camping
Tanorexia: an obsession with getting a tan
Twetiquette: Twitter etiquette
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While we are looking up words,
Can you share the dictionary definitions (or your own) about:
felching
shrimping
yiffyand PLEASE feel free to add to this list
Regards,
Tim [internal re: 11377] -
Can you share the dictionary definitions (or your own) about:
felching
shrimping
yiffyfrom hXXp://www.definition-of.com/
anal felching / foofer felching , chiefly gay usage, to lick or suck semen ejaculated into the anus of a sex partner;
afterwards, it may be exchanged by the lovers during kissing. CAUTION: Felching is not considered safe sex.Synonyms: fletching, coprafelchia, and truffle hunting are synonymous, but rarer;
shrimping is felching with the aid of a straw.yiff ? -> Young Incredibly Fuckable Fellow :bananadope:
