Oxford Dictionary update names “vape” one of the seven most popular words
During the 100th anniversary celebration of British novelist Roald Dahl, the Oxford English Dictionary updated its authoritative record of the English language.
With 1,000 updated entries and 1,200 new additions, Jonathan Dent, senior assistant editor of the Oxford English Dictionary, said, "This is a significant standard study, a balance. What new entries are added to the dictionary is based on our research. It all comes down to evidence."
The Oxford English Dictionary has been adding new words for many years, and this quarter saw many foreign words and slang added. YOLO (You Only Live Once), cray (crazy), binge-watch, and moobs (male breast development) are among the new words added during this period.
Dent said, "The abbreviation YOLO traces back to its predecessor, the axiom that you only live once."
It is evident that most of the new entries in the OED are either a phrase or a popular hashtag that has circulated on social media for over two to ten years.
Several abbreviations have also made their way into the OED, including SMH (shaking my head), WDYT (what do you think), FML (f*** my life), etc.
Among the most popular phrases are Doncha: (informal) don’t you; Scrumptious: delicious; Squee: exclamation; Fuhgeddaboudit: forget about it; Biatch: b****; Listicle: an internet article presented in the form of a numbered or bulleted list; and Vape: to inhale and exhale vapor produced by an electronic cigarette or similar device.
