This just in....


One hundred new words and phrases have officially been added to the English language by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary


Although a number of newspapers have stories about this, nowhere will you find a listing of the new additions, not even on Merriam-Webster's own site http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary

Not content with that, your intrepid reporter phoned Merriam-Webster long distance and spoke to key executives, especially to Mr. Syd Seale, Content Coordinator.

Thanks to Mr. Seale, we present as a Seti Scoop the first 25 additions. Each item contains the word or phrase, the date of actual origin (in brackets) and the meaning. We are the first...you won't find this anywhere else.

I hope to add the remaining 75 tomorrow. :]]



Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate® Dictionary, Eleventh Edition
2008 Copyright

New Entries


1. air quotes n pl (1989) : a gesture made by raising and flexing the index and middle fingers of both hands that is used to call attention to a spoken word or expression

2. dark energy n (1998) : a hypothetical form of energy that produces a force that opposes gravity and is thought to be the cause of the accelerating expansion of the universe

3. dirty bomb n (1956) : a bomb designed to release radioactive material

4. dwarf planet n (1993) : a celestial body that orbits the sun and has a spherical shape but is too small to disturb other objects from its orbit

5. edamame n (1951) : immature green soybeans usu. in the pod

6. fanboy n (1919) : a boy who is an enthusiastic devotee (as of comics or movies)

7. infinity pool n (1992) : an outdoor swimming pool having an edge over which water flows into a trough but seems to flow into the horizon

8. jukebox musical n (1993) : a musical that features popular songs from the past

9. kiteboarding n (1996) : the sport of riding on a small surfboard that is propelled across water by a large kite to which the rider is harnessed

10. malware n (1990) : software designed to interfere with a computer’s normal functioning

11. mental health day n (1971) : a day that an employee takes off from work in order to relieve stress or renew vitality

12. mondegreen n [fr. the mishearing in a Scottish ballad of “laid him on the green” as “Lady Mondegreen”] (1954) : a word or phrase that results from a mishearing of something said or sung

13. netroots n pl (2003) : the grassroots political activists who communicate via the Internet esp. by blogs

14. norovirus n (2002) : any of a genus of small round single-stranded RNA viruses; specif: Norwalk Virus


15. pescatarian n (1993) : a vegetarian whose diet includes fish

16. phytonutrient n (1994) : a bioactive plant-derived compound (as resveratrol) associated with positive health effects

17. pretexting n (1992) : the practice of presenting oneself as someone else in order to obtain private information

18. prosecco n (1881) : a dry Italian sparkling wine

19. racino n (1995) : a racetrack at which slot machines are available for gamblers

20. soju n (1978) : Korean vodka distilled from rice

21. subprime adj (1995) 1: having or being an interest rate that is higher than a prime rate and is extended esp. to low-income borrowers 2: extending or obtaining a subprime loan

22. supercross n (1983) : a motorcycle race held in a stadium on a dirt track having hairpin turns and high jumps

23. Texas Hold ’em n (1995) : poker in which each player is dealt two cards facedown and all players share five cards dealt faceup

24. webinar n (1998) : a live online educational presentation during which participating viewers can submit questions and comments

25. wing nut n (ca. 1900) 3 slang : one who advocates extreme measures or changes : radical

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Thanks for sharing with us Beets.

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I'm pretty sure there are some that we're no allowed to say here.

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Account frozen...

I'm pretty sure there are some that we're no allowed to say here.

LOL

Any problem, just air quote. :]]

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Thanks for sharing with us Beets.

Thanks, John!

I was just bowled over that everyone was reporting the news but nobody had the list of words. LOL

The list should be appearing on Merrriam-Webster's site in a few days, says Editor at Large Peter Sokolowski (thanks to our intervention), but we're getting them first.

I feel good about that, that we of Seti are on the cutting edge here. :]]

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