Around 500 new words and phrases have been added to the Oxford English Dictionary in the tome”s quarterly update, including several that provide an insight into 21st century hobbies, such as “sexting,” “photobombing,” “vaping” and “crowdfunding.”
Other gems included in the latest version of the dictionary are the words “meh” and “twerk,” as well as more complex ones like “Enviropig”—the trademark for a genetically modified line of Yorkshire pigs with enhanced digestive capabilities—and “pharmacovigilance,” which denotes the practice of monitoring the effects of drugs after they have been licensed for use.
These regular updates to the dictionary are designed to reflect the evolution in the English language which is, naturally, constantly in motion. Perhaps unsurprisingly given the growth in technology, many of the new words we are adopting are closely related to innovations in tech and digital culture.
We have identified the new words and concepts that we believe are most likely to be used regularly by readers:
autotune, v.
autotuned, adj.
biomethane, n.
Blu-ray, n.
crowdfund, v.
crowdfunded, adj.
crowdfunding, n.
cyclogenesis, n.
deep web
e-cig, n.
e-cigarette, n.
ecotown, n.
Enviropig, n.
e-skin, n.
forensic science, n.
forensics, n.
freegan, adj. and n.
H2O, n.
hyperlocal, adj.
Internaut, n.
Interweb, n.
JavaScript, n.
kryptonite, n.
nanosized, adj.
netbook, n.2
on-trend, adj. and adv.
pageview, n.
pharmacovigilance, n.
photobomb, n.
photobomb, v.
photobomber, n.
photobombing, n.
retweet, n.
retweet, v.
retweeting, n.
sext, n.2
sext, v.
sexting, n.
SD card
system disk
system file
tenderpreneur, n.
tweeting, n.
thumb drive
twitterati, n.
vape, v.
vaper, n.
vaping, n.
Along with some of the new words that have been added in their own right, the OED team has also added several sub entries, many of which come under the word Internet. Here is the full list of Internet-related words added to the dictionary:
Internet address
Internet banking
Internet browser
Internet chat room
Internet connectivity
Internet filtering
Internet forum
Internet gateway
Internet kiosk
Internet of things
Internet radio
Internet search
Internet shopping
Internet startup
Internet traffic
Internet worm
Internet-capable
Internet-enabled
Internet-ready
The full list of new officially recognized words can be found over at the Oxford English Dictionary, where all good words go to thrive. Why not find one you don”t know and try using it in a sentence today?
[Original story published on http://crowdfundbeat.com and republished on iCrowdNewswire.com under the author’s authorization]