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In 1807, Noah Webster set upon writing ‘An American Dictionary of the English Language’. It took him 26 years to write it all himself, including the etymologies, which required that he learn 28 languages. He was plagued by debt to fund the project.
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In 1879 it was estimated the Oxford English Dictionary to take 10 years for completion, but in five years they’d only reached the word “Ant”. After crowdsourcing readers to help it was completed 44 years later. The publishers now estimate it would take a single person 120 years to just type it.
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Language never stops evolving, and nobody knows that better than the editors of the dictionary. The Merriam-Webster editors added over 640 words to the dictionary in April 2019 alone!!! Some of the words are brand new (like “buzzy”) and others have simply taken on new meanings (like “snowflake”).
When dictionaries add new words, they’re always a great, spot-on reflection of the current cultural moment, and these are no different. Here are 10 new words that will make you sigh and say, “Yep, this is 2019 alright.”
Photo Credit: Pixabay
Unplug: “To temporarily refrain from using electronic devices (such as computers or smartphones).”
Receipts: “plural, informal : PROOF : EVIDENCE.”
As in: “I 100% believe that Prince William is cheating on Kate Middleton but I need someone to show me the receipts.”
Peak: “Being at the height of popularity, use, or attention —used before the name of a product, person, cultural trend, etc.”
Vulture capitalism: “A form of venture capitalism in which aggressive methods are used to buy a distressed business with the intention of selling it at a profit.”
Gig economy: “Economic activity that involves the use of temporary or freelance workers to perform jobs typically in the service sector.”
Stan is “slang, often disparaging” to mean “an extremely or excessively enthusiastic and devoted fan.”
Photo Credit: Wattpad
On-brand: “Appropriate to, typical of, consistent with, or supportive of a particular brand or public image or identity.”
An example from Merriam-Webster: “It’s time to do an overhaul of your [Facebook] profile to ensure it’s professional and on-brand.” (Via Cheryl Lock.)
Buzzy: “Causing or characterized by a lot of speculative or excited talk or attention : generating buzz.”
Screen time: “Time spent watching television, playing a video game, or using an electronic device with a screen (such as a smartphone or tablet).”
Snowflake: “Someone who is overly sensitive.”
As in: “One side derides the youth driving the movement as snowflakes and social justice warriors, too sensitive and too politically correct.” (Via Vanessa McCray.)
Yup, it’s 2019 alright.
The post 10 Additions to the Dictionary That Are So 2019, it’s Ridiculous appeared first on UberFacts.
Generally speaking, you wouldn’t think that Dictionary.com had a particularly exciting presence online. I mean, sure, everyone knows to go visit them when they need a definition for a word, but I never thought I’d consider their Twitter account a must-follow, and yet here we are.
One reason I’d make such a recommendation? Well, let’s take what happened when notoriously controversial actor James Woods recently put out a not-so-subtly transphobic tweet about gender pronouns.
Woods essentially argued that “they” can only be used as a plural pronoun, and that using it as a singular pronoun is just an invention of “hare-brained liberals.”
Photo Credit: Twitter, James Woods
Well… it wasn’t long before Dictionary.com stepped in to drop some knowledge:
Photo Credit: Twitter
This is hardly Dictionary.com’s first foray into the realm of trolling bigots. They’ve used their extensive knowledge of the English language to serve up tasty burns to all sorts of people. Like Vice President Mike Pence…
Photo Credit: Twitter
The word, by the way, is “sycophant.”
And of course, being the lovable language nerds that they are, they couldn’t let the president slide for his misspelling of the word “collusion.”
Photo Credit: Twitter
Generally speaking, any time the president needs to learn some new words, Dictionary.com is there with a helpful suggestion.
Photo Credit: Twitter
Dear Dictionary.com,
Please, never stop being who you are. Thanks.
The post Dictionary.com Wrecks Transphobic Celebrity Who Insisted “They” Can’t Be a Singular Pronoun appeared first on UberFacts.