Oxford Dictionary Goes High-Tech, Adds Retweet, Sexting As Official Words
Oxford has updated the 12th edition of its Concise English Dictionary to officially add popular Internet jargon, online slang and social networking terms such as “retweet” and “sexting” as actual words.
Reflecting technology’s growing influence on modern culture, over 400 new entries including the likes of “cyberbullying” and “upcycle” have been introduced to the reference volume in total, which now features more than 240,000 phrases. First published in 1911, the book has been regularly updated over the years to reflect new high-tech and pop culture advancements from digital music to online chat and downloads.
This year’s inductees, chosen from a potential pool of two billion commonly used words and phrases on websites, blogs and printed manuscripts, are an especially strange mix of the weird, wild and WTF, however. Note that for every “retweet” (v. to repost or forward a message on Twitter), there’s also a “jeggings” (n. cross between jeans and leggings) and “mankini” (n. one-piece, bikini-style bathing brief for men).
Still, in the interest of progress, we’ll give the effort a hearty “woot” (exclam. expression of elation or enthusiasm, especially in online communication). Note the sudden absence of zeroes from the expression though, lest you risk have your knuckles rapped going forward by an irate English teacher.