Late last week, the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) created quite the buzz over some new additions to its online dictionary. The new March 2011 OED Online update, published on March 24, 2011, includes new words, senses, subordinate entries and more than 1,900 revisions. While adding new words is nothing new for dictionaries, some parents and teachers may be surprised to see a few of the dictionary’s latest additions!
Texting and Tweeting Terminology
Whether it is used for entertainment, news and information, educational purposes or communication, the Internet plays a pivotal role in people’s lives. With the launching of social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook, communicating with one another has never been easier. Numerous terms and expressions have evolved over the years due to the popularity of texting and tweeting. To reduce the amount of characters needed to type out long words, shortened abbreviations or acronyms, also known as “intialisms” or “textspeak,” are frequently used.
Oxford English Dictionary Online Newest Internet-Inspired Words
Some of the more popular abbreviations or slangs commonly used in electronic communication are now officially recognized by the Oxford English Dictionary as full-fledged words.
- BFF – Abbreviation for Best Friends Forever
- Defriend – Another term for unfriending someone
- Egosurfing – Search the Internet for your own name or links to your own website
- FYI - For Your Information
- IMHO – In My Humble Opinion
- Interweb – The Internet
- LOL – Laugh Out Loud
- OMG – Oh My God
- TMI – Too Much Information
- Tweetup – A meeting or gathering organized by Twitter postings
Other Popular Terms Added to OED Online
- Bromance – A close but nonsexual relationship between two men
- Chill Pill – A “pill” taken to make someone calm down or relax
- Frenemy – A combination of the words “friend” and “enemy.” A person with whom one is friendly despite a fundamental dislike or rivalry
- LBD – Little Black Dress
- Muffin Top – The flesh above the waistband of a tight pair of pants.
- Wassup! - A common greeting combining the words “what’s up”
The Oxford English Dictionary
In 1857, members of the Philological Society of London called for a new, four-volume English Dictionary because existing English dictionaries were incomplete. According to the OED, it was estimated the ambitious project would take ten years to complete.
When lexicographer Sir James Augustus Henry Murray and his team had only reached the word “ant” five years into the project, the original time schedule had to be re-evaluated. The First Edition was finally published in ten parts between 1884 and 1928. In 1992, the OED was published on CD-ROM. In 2000, an online version of the Oxford English Dictionary, OED Online, was published.
Today, the Oxford English Dictionary includes 600,000 words and 3 million quotations and is updated four times each year. Touted as “the last word on words for over a century,” 70 editors review each and every entry. The website also features free search widgets, interactive images, word challenge and hangman games and crossword and anagrams solvers. Behind-the-scenes video shorts are also available online. OED Online is available in both free and subscription-based versions.
The latest update, not yet available in book form, is part of Oxford’s third edition. One can only imagine what popular terms, slangs and words will be included in the next Oxford English Dictionary update, available in June 2011.
Sources:
- Oxford English Dictionary, Latest Update, Oxford University Press,March 24, 2011.
- Oxford English Dictionary, History of the OED, Oxford University Press, 2010.
Jace Shoemaker-Galloway - +JaceShoemaker-Galloway is more than passionate about online safety awareness. She has devoted and dedicated over five years to Internet ...
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