Each year, new words are added to the Oxford English Dictionary. Some are culturally-driven; others are technology-driven. Many are unusual.
As Lindsay Kolowich writes for HubSpot:
“Although the Oxford English Dictionary editors get the final say, they actually look to us to dictate whether a word should be added. In other words, we have no one but ourselves to blame for all the weird words that make the cut every year.”
“But we can at least share the blame with technology. None of us would be saying “srsly” if we hadn’t felt the urge to shorten words for text messages and E-mails. We wouldn’t be voting anyone off the island if not for the television series Survivor.”
“Want to see what [20] weird words were added to the OED thanks to Internet slang and technology? Read on.”
Here are ten of the words. They are in alphabetical order:
- Cyberchondriac (n.) – “A person who compulsively searches the Internet for information about particular real or imagined symptoms of illness.”
- Dox (v.) – “To search for and publish private or identifying information about a particular individual on the Internet, typically with malicious intent.”
- Egosurf (v.) – “To search the Internet for instances of one’s own name or links to one’s own Web site.”
- Lamestream (adj. & n.) – “Used to refer contemptuously to the mainstream media.”
- MOOC (n.) – “A free course of study made available over the Internet to a very large number of people.”
- Netiquette (n.) – “The correct or acceptable way to use the Internet.”
- Phablet (n.) – “A smartphone having a screen which is intermediate in size between that of a typical smartphone and a tablet computer.”
- Screenager (n.) – “A person in their teens or twenties who has an aptitude for computers and the Internet.”
- Slacktivism (n.) – “Actions performed via the Internet in support of a political or social cause but regarded as requiring little time or involvement, (e.g. signing an online petition).”
- Woot (exclamation) – “Used to express elation, enthusiasm, or triumph, especially in electronic communication.”
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