As I've mentioned before in this blog, English is a language that is constantly evolving. New words enter the lexicon on almost a daily basis, whether they be tech terms, slang or just something that people started to use.
The definitive authority on the English language is the Oxford English Dictionary. The dictionary traces its origins back to the late 1850s. Published by the Oxford University Press, the OED is comprised of over 300,000 main entries;157,000 bold-type combinations and derivatives; 169,000 italicized-bold phrases and combinations; 616,500 word-forms in total, including 137,000 pronunciations; 249,300 etymologies; 577,000 cross-references; and 2,412,400 usage quotations. That is a lot of words.
Each year the OED adds new words and phrases to the dictionary. 2009 saw words like Generation Y, superbug, and blogosphere added to the dictionary. These terms have been added to our language through popular culture, so the OED has added them to the dictionary. My favorite addition to the dictionary in 2009 is turducken. A turducken is a turkey, stuffed with duck, which is in turn stuffed with a chicken.
2010 saw the additions of vuvuzela, hashtag, and bromance. When bromance is officially recognized, you know that English has truly evolved.
Badezimmer Bocholt
3 years ago
I'm just waiting on "autofail."
ReplyDeleteI don't know about you, but I follow http://www.urbandictionary.com/
ReplyDeleteAnd guess what? Your blog post is "pre-festive".
meaning:
The state of premature holiday celebration by means of decorations, singing, or costume.
used in a sentence:
The Smith family, with their Christmas lights up in October, are quite pre-festive.
They also have the word "boom shakalaka" on there. I know you use that word a lot, Neil.