You can find all the new words listed at the OED website, but Graeme Diamond, Principal Editor of New Words at OED has picked out a few and has given some extra explanations for us all to read with links to the full entries available at the site. 

The word wiki, recorded as a noun, is said by Diamond to have joined “a small but distinguished group of words which are directly or ultimately borrowings into English from Hawaiian”, with Diamond observing that the OED has been suggested to resembled a wiki, as it has a “long tradition of working on collaborative principles means it has welcomed the contribution of information and quotation evidence from the public for over 150 years”.

John Simpson, the Chief Editor of the OED, said that : "Words are included on the basis of the documentary evidence. A while ago, evidence suggested that wiki was starting to make a name for itself. We tracked it for several years, researched its origins, and finally decided it was time to include it.”

Another word is “irritainment”, or irritating entertainment, such as reality shows which are like a train wreck – so bad that you have to watch, making them enjoyable even though they are, well… irritating!

Bimbette makes an entrance as a descriptor for young girls who are exhibiting sings including diminished intelligence that could see them become “bimbos” in later life should they not change their ways.

The classic slang term ‘ixnay’, which is a Pig Latin code used to disguise words for being easily understood by others, even those the system of shifting the initial consonant to the end of a word is well known, has only just been added to the dictionary despite being slang for many, many years.

A whole series of words starting with ‘pre’ have been added to the dictionary, showing the versatility of the prefix ‘pre’ in constantly creating new words that are easily understood by listeners, even if they have never heard the word before.

Ta-da is another new word, which accompanies an announcement of some kind, just as the sound has done so many times in the past.

So, welcome wiki to the world of words that are official in the Oxford English Dictionary. Ta-da!
{moscomment}

---

Get stories like this delivered daily - FREE - subscribe now
When you subscribe get a 12 months license for LiveProject
Valued at $99 USD


Download the FREE iTWire desktop alert widget