The Oxford English Dictionary recently added some new words. I always like to see what kind of words make it into the dictionary each year. My very favorite–the “Word of the Year”–will show up in a couple of months, but for now, here are some of the new words that have shown up in articles about these additions.
Biatch – A sassy version of “bitch.”
Clickbait – A story or content that draws you in with a headline but probably won’t deliver.
Clicktivism – Using social media and the internet for social or political activism.
Jagoff – An obnoxious and rude person who is usually characterized as a man.
‘Merica – A shortened (and some think more patriotic) way to say “America.”
Moobs – Slang for “man boobs.”
Resting B*tch Face – A facial expression exuding annoyance making it appear that the person doesn’t mean to look annoyed.
Shoplifting – Stealing something from a store without paying for it. (I’m not sure why this word hasn’t been in the OED before now.)
Squee – A screech that comes out when you’re really excited about something.
Vom – A shorter way of saying vomit or to explain that someone is in the act of vomiting.
YOLO – An acronym for “you only live once.”
There are more than 500 other words added, but I chose just a few. Since I don’t have a subscription to Oxford English Dictionary, I can’t get their “official” definitions, but I am assuming if they are adding words that are now part of our language, definitions found on the Internet will be close.
- cheek kiss, n. – a ritual or social kissing gesture to indicate friendship, perform a greeting, to confer congratulations, to comfort someone, to show respect, or to indicate sexual or romantic interest
- cheerer-upper, n. – a person or thing that cheers a person up
- clientelist, adj. – a political or social system based on the relation of client to patron with the client giving political or financial support to a patron (as in the form of votes) in exchange for some special privilege or benefit <In some countries, such as Greece, there has been a clear policy of “clientelism” in which political parties have rewarded their supporters with jobs and benefits that have been funded by the general taxpayer. — The Economist, 14 Apr. 2012
- clientitis, n. – (also called clientism or localitis) is the tendency of resident in-country staff of an organization to regard the officials and people of the host country as “clients.” This condition can be found in business or government.
- freemium, n. – is a pricing strategy by which a product or service (typically a digital offering or application such as software, media, games or web services) is provided free of charge, but money (premium) is charged for proprietary features, functionality, or virtual goods.
- fuhgeddaboudit, int. – Forget about it – the issue is not worth the time, energy, mental effort, or emotional resources. 2. Definitively
- grandwean, n. – grandchild
- kegerator, n. – a refrigerator that has been designed or altered to store and dispense kegs. By keeping the keg in a refrigerated environment and using CO2 to pressurize and dispense the keg, it will allow the contents to remain fresh and carbonated for an extended period of time, generally a couple of months.
- kinder, n. – short for kindergarten
- little old lady, n. – 1. one who is seen as weak, and feeble, and/or feeble-minded.
2. a dainty, elderly woman. - scrumdiddlyumptious, adj. – Extremely scrumptious; excellent, splendid; (esp. of food) delicious.
- shopaholism, n. – medical term used to define the compulsive desire to shop
- shoppertainment, n. – a retail tactic to engage customers through an entertaining in-store shopping experience.
- upspeak, n. – Affliction affecting my in today’s society not just teenagers where a person makes a question out of a sentence that isn’t a question (or more simply speaks “up” at the end of a sentence).
- yaya, n. – 1. term of endearment for an old Greek grandmother. 2. used by feminists as a reference to a woman in her prime. 2a. meaning, in this context, an old stupid whiny bitch with delusions of sexiness to anyone who is not a feminist
- Yogalates, n. – a fitness routine that combines Pilates exercises with the postures and breathing techniques of yoga
The entire list of words added to the Oxford English Dictionary is here – http://public.oed.com/the-oed-today/recent-updates-to-the-oed/september-2016-update/new-words-list-september-2016/
Follow