Have you ever called an attention-seeking friend a drama queen? Maybe you asked to have your meal supersized? Chances are, you google at least a few times a week.
Merriam-Webster has just revealed its list of 100 new words that will be added to the dictionary this fall. Among those words are unibrow (eyebrows growing together) and manga (Japanese comic-books).
"We try to have a mix that addresses the wide range of people's information needs when adding new words," said John Morse, president of the Springfield-based dictionary publisher. "It could be a technical term or some light-hearted slang that sends people to a dictionary."
From Slang to Science
How are new words added to the dictionary? Researchers search thousands of newspapers, magazines and websites for new words and phrases that are gaining popularity in the English language.
"We need evidence that the word is showing up in publications that people are reading on an everyday basis," Morse said.
Not all the new words are slang. The newest science words to be added to the dictionary include biodiesel (fuel from vegetables) and avian influenza (bird flu).
Many of the dictionary’s new words have definitions that are already well known. Most Internet users know that Google is a popular search engine. Not convinced? Just ask a mouse potato (a person who spends a great deal of time using a computer). ”Google is definitely a verb," said Dan Reynolds, a 35-year-old salesman at YES Computers in Northampton. "Google has become like a secondary brain for a lot of people. If you want quick info on something, that's what you do. You Google it.”
Want to see more definitions of the dictionary’s newest words? Go to Merriam_Webster’s website for a sampling of new words.
Merriam-Webster has just revealed its list of 100 new words that will be added to the dictionary this fall. Among those words are unibrow (eyebrows growing together) and manga (Japanese comic-books).
"We try to have a mix that addresses the wide range of people's information needs when adding new words," said John Morse, president of the Springfield-based dictionary publisher. "It could be a technical term or some light-hearted slang that sends people to a dictionary."
From Slang to Science
How are new words added to the dictionary? Researchers search thousands of newspapers, magazines and websites for new words and phrases that are gaining popularity in the English language.
"We need evidence that the word is showing up in publications that people are reading on an everyday basis," Morse said.
Not all the new words are slang. The newest science words to be added to the dictionary include biodiesel (fuel from vegetables) and avian influenza (bird flu).
Many of the dictionary’s new words have definitions that are already well known. Most Internet users know that Google is a popular search engine. Not convinced? Just ask a mouse potato (a person who spends a great deal of time using a computer). ”Google is definitely a verb," said Dan Reynolds, a 35-year-old salesman at YES Computers in Northampton. "Google has become like a secondary brain for a lot of people. If you want quick info on something, that's what you do. You Google it.”
Want to see more definitions of the dictionary’s newest words? Go to Merriam_Webster’s website for a sampling of new words.
Comments