‘YOLO’ is now an English word, according to Oxford dictionary
The latest additions to the Oxford English Dictionary have been announced, with 1,200 new words and 1,000 revised entries making the cut.
The dictionary, which is updated four times a year, unveiled the inclusions on Monday.
Included among the latest list are ‘gender-fluid’ – meaning, ‘relating to a person having or expressing a fluid or unfixed gender identity’, ‘YOLO’ – an abbreviation for ‘you only live once’, and ”Merica’ – a sarcastic term used to described things or events that fit the American stereotype.
Others words chosen this time around are ‘moobs’, which is defined as, ‘unusually prominent breasts on a man’, and ‘non-apology’, meaning: ‘a statement that takes the form of an apology but does not acknowledge responsibility or express regret for what has caused offence or upset.’
‘Clicktivism’ also made the cut this time around, so now you only need one word to describe a person who, ‘signals support for a political or social cause by means of the Internet, through social media, online petitions, etc, rather than by more substantive involvement.’
And college basketball fans would be pleased with the new edition, after ‘bracketology’ – ‘the activity of predicting the participating teams in a tournament (typically the NCAA basketball tournament) and the winners of the competition’s stages, as depicted in a diagram representing the sequence of matches’ – was included.
NEW WORDS
There was also a shout-out for Star Wars lovers, with ‘Yoda’ added as a noun, meaning: ‘a person who embodies the characteristics of Yoda, esp. in being wise; an elder, sage or guru.’
The latest edition also paid tribute to iconic author Roald Dahl, who was born 100 years ago on September 13, 1916.
A selection of the words used specifically by the author have been added to the dictionary, including, frightsome, scrummy, scrumptious, splendiferous, and splendiferousness.
The word dahlesque was also added, which means: ‘Resembling or characteristic of the works of Roald Dahl.’
Oxford English Dictionary Senior Assistant Editor Jonathan Dent said special consideration was given to the late-author’s unique words and phrases in an attempt to ‘mark the occasion’ of centenary of the birth of the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory creator.
Dahl was a British novelist born in Cardiff who died in Oxford in 1990.
Another list of new words for the Oxford English Dictionary will be released in December.