Selfie, Hashtag, Tweep & 150 Other New Words Find Place In 2014 Merriam-Webster Dictionary

Merriam-Webster, the leading global Word dictionary has taken note of the new words that are increasingly getting popular and being used frequently in online as well as offline channels. A total of 150 new words have been included in their online as well as print editions for 2014.

Merriam-Webster generally update their dictionary words every year, however, they did not have an update last year. The 150 new words that have been included in this year’s edition clearly show that words that were specifically used on social platforms are now entering the traditional language.

In a update published on their website, Merriam-Webster points out, “These new additions to America’s best-selling dictionary reflect the growing influence technology is having on human endeavor, especially social networking, once done mostly in person.”

Another interesting aspect is that generally a new word takes a long time (atleast a couple of decades) before it becomes mainstream upon which it is included in the dictionary. With the new words that have come about in this social networking age have taken less than 5 years to become mainstream!

Out of the 150 new words included, Merriam-Webster have mentioned only sample 15 words. Even these sample words clearly point to the fact that most of them have originated in tech and social space.

Here are the sample 15 new words released by Merriam-Webster and their short description as per the dictionary

Catfish:

First Known use – 1612

(noun) A type of fish that has a large head and long thin parts that look like a cat’s whiskers around its mouth

Crowdfunding:

First Known use – 2006

(noun) The practice of soliciting financial contributions from a large number of people especially from the online community

Selfie

First Known use – 2002

(noun) an image of oneself taken by oneself using a digital camera especially for posting on social networks

Freegan:

First Known use – 2006

(noun) An activist who scavenges for free food (as in waste receptacles at stores and restaurants) as a means of reducing consumption of resources

Gamification:

First Known use – 2010

(noun) The process of adding games or game like elements to something (as a task) so as to encourage participation

Social Networking

First Known use – 1998

(noun) The creation and maintenance of personal and business relationships especially online

Pho:

First Known use – 1935

(noun) A soup made of beef or chicken broth and rice noodles

Poutine:

First Known use – 1982

(noun) A dish of French fries covered with brown gravy and cheese curds

Steampunk

First Known use – 1987

science fiction dealing with 19th-century societies dominated by historical or imagined steam-powered technology

Hashtag:

First Known use – 2008

(noun) A word or phrase preceded by the symbol # that classifies or categorizes the accompanying text (such as a tweet)

Big Data:

First Known use – 1980

(noun) An accumulation of data that is too large and complex for processing by traditional database management tools

Yooper:

First Known use – 1977

(noun) A native or resident of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan —used as a nickname

Fracking:

First Known use – 1953

(noun) The injection of fluid into shale beds at high pressure in order to free up petroleum resources (such as oil or natural gas)

Turducken

First Known use – 1982

(noun) A boneless chicken stuffed into a boneless duck stuffed into a boneless turkey

Tweep

First Known use – 2008

A person who uses the Twitter online message service to send and receive tweets

Even food seems to be as popular a category as is Technology!

[Note: Generally, Print edition dictionaries are different than online dictionaries. Online dictionaries are updated often, infact few times a year, but print editions are update only after a new word goes mainstream]