Dictionary adds new words

by Rob Peters | July 7, 2008 at 11:12 am

3058 views | 12 Recommendations | 32 comments

Board (bored?) gamers wanting to improve their Balderdash skills will want to check out the new words being added to the dictionary this year. There's about a hundred of them, many of which pertain to cooking for some reason.

It's interesting that they have people whose job it is study the usage patterns of these words, looking for the first sign of their use without quotation marks, essentially. As soon as "bling" becomes just bling, for example, they can add it to the lexicon. What a strange job.

One of the more interesting additions this year is the word mondegreen (I had to stop myself from using quotes), which refers to a word or phrase mistaken for something else--like how "She's got a chicken to ride" is often mistaken for the Beatles' song.

When I was in high school I honestly thought the "soy un perdedor" part in Beck's Loser song was actually "sewed on genitals" ( listen to it and tell me there's not something there). Quite the mondegreen.

Before your next party, go ahead and consult the latest edition of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, which now includes edamame (immature green soybeans), pescatarian (a vegetarian who eats fish) and about 100 other newly added words that have taken root in the American lexicon.

The wordsmiths at the Springfield, Massachusetts-based dictionary publisher say they picked the new entries after monitoring their use over years.

"As soon as we see the word used without explanation or translation or gloss, we consider it a naturalized citizen of the English language," said Peter Sokolowski, an editor-at-large for Merriam-Webster. "If somebody is using it to convey a specific idea and that idea is successfully conveyed in that word, it's ready to go in the dictionary."

"Mondegreen" also made it in. The term refers to misunderstood phrases or lyrics, such as "'Scuse me, while I kiss this guy" in place of "kiss the sky" from the classic 1967 Jimi Hendrix song Purple Haze.

The word, first spotted in print in 1954, originated from the mishearing of the Scottish ballad lyric "laid him on the green" as "Lady Mondegreen."

"Mondegreen" was among tens of thousands of words whose use the dictionary editors monitored for decades.

"They can float for decades. What that means, for the most part, is that they've been used in more spoken forms than … written until recently," Sokolowski said.

Many of the new entries reflect the nation's growing interest in the culinary arts, including prosecco (a sparkling Italian wine) and soju (a Korean vodka distilled from rice). Others define new technology or products, such as infinity pool -- an outdoor pool with an edge designed to make water appear to flow into the horizon.

The following are some other words or expressions that were included, along with the year Merriam-Webster first found them in print:

Air quotes (1989): gesture made by raising and flexing the index and middle fingers of both hands, used to call attention to a spoken word or expression.

Dirty bomb (1956): bomb designed to release radioactive material.

Kiteboarding (1996): the sport of riding on a small surfboard propelled across water by a large kite, to which the rider is harnessed.

Mental health day (1971): day that an employee takes off from work to relieve stress or renew vitality.

Subprime (1995): 1. having or being an interest rate that is higher than a prime rate and is extended especially to low-income borrowers; 2. extending or obtaining a subprime loan.

Wing nut (circa 1900): (slang) one who advocates extreme measures or changes; radical.

Some more mondegreens:

"Gladly, the cross-eyed bear."
   "Gladly The Cross I'd Bear."
   Traditional Hymn

"There's a bathroom on the right."
   "There's a bad moon on the rise."
   Bad Moon Rising, Creedence Clearwater

"Excuse me while I kiss this guy."
   "Excuse me while I kiss the sky."
   Purple Haze, Jimi Hendrix

"Dead ants are my friends; they're blowin' in the wind."
   "The answer my friend is blowin' in the wind."
   Blowin' In The Wind, Bob Dylan

"Midnight after you're wasted."
   "Midnight at the oasis."
   Midnight at the Oasis, Maria Muldaur

"The girl with colitis goes by."
   "The girl with kaleidoscope eyes."
   Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds, The Beatles

"Sleep in heavenly peas."
   "Sleep in heavenly peace."
   Silent Night, Christmas carol

"I blow bubbles when you are not here."
   "My world crumbles when you are not here."
   I Try, Macy Gray

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Niki3

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 11:16 on July 7th, 2008

Rob Peters, I like this story. It's good stuff.

haha those mondegreens are hilarious. It's so funny how five people can be singing along to the same song, but singing completely different (and most often incorrect) lyrics.

julianw

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 11:39 on July 7th, 2008

It was always a bit mondegreenish to call a fish-eating vegetarian a "vegetarian." The word pescatarian solves that problem with style.

sugarpacketchad

at 02:25 on July 8th, 2008

This is a great article ;-))

Suziesaurus

at 03:03 on July 8th, 2008

Air quotes is in the dictionary? that's awesome.

Rox-N

at 03:16 on July 8th, 2008

I love edamame!

Rox-N has contributed a photo to this story.

Brad Wiederholt

at 03:29 on July 8th, 2008

July 3, 2008 -- ATLANTA, GEORGIA, USA -- Photograph titled EDAMAME. -- PHOTO BY BRAD WIEDERHOLT.

Brad Wiederholt has contributed a photo to this story.

ExtremeElements

at 03:32 on July 8th, 2008

Extreme kiteboarding action from the Cabarete World Cup 2008 - the fourth round of the Professional Kiteboard Riders Association (PKRA) 2008 World Tour. Photo by ExtremeElements.tv

ExtremeElements has contributed a photo to this story.

DM Rosner

at 04:15 on July 8th, 2008

The "Photography" photograph is from the Webster's New International Dictionary Second Edition, 1947. One of my favorite parts is the New Words section. Among the many "new" words in 1947: allergic (slang), anthology, camera (television), carcinogen, Freon, Molotov cocktail, Nazism (or Naziism), plasma, Polaroid, public domain, racism, sabotage, sadism, script (radio), stratosphere, supernova, tommy gun, vinyl resin, WAC, and white dwarf. Oh, and for Harry Potter fans, the word "muggles" was also added to the dictionary in 1947--meaning marijuana or marijuana cigarettes.

DM Rosner has contributed a photo to this story.

missinglink_mx

at 05:10 on July 8th, 2008

Found a great restaurant in San Francisco's Fisherman's Warf called Butterfly. They bring them to your table in place of bread.

missinglink_mx has contributed a photo to this story.

Pink Knitter

at 05:33 on July 8th, 2008

One of the things I've really enjoyed about the ABC-Along http://flickr.com/groups/abc-along-2008/pool/is: it has made me think of words. When I'm stuck, as I was for the letter "J", I refer to my Webster's Dictionary which was new in 1980.

Pink Knitter has contributed a photo to this story.

kedoublely1704

at 05:51 on July 8th, 2008

haha whats this forr

kedoublely1704 has contributed a photo to this story.

SemperNovus

at 05:53 on July 8th, 2008

Hmmm... So no one could find another photo of a dictionary entry? I wonder if this will stir up "activity"?

SemperNovus has contributed a photo to this story.

bigandlittle

at 06:15 on July 8th, 2008

We grow organic Edamame (soy beans) in our backyard vegetable garden.

bigandlittle has contributed a photo to this story.

lovedc

at 06:37 on July 8th, 2008

This was our first year planting edamame and you can see two rows of edamame sprouts in the lower right corner of the garden plot. So far this summer we've harvested twice.

lovedc has contributed a photo to this story.

mae_83

at 06:53 on July 8th, 2008

I ussually put edamame as a part of my husband's lunch box ( bento ). We love it !

mae_83 has contributed a photo to this story.

Lauri

at 08:32 on July 8th, 2008

I didn't know "misunderstanding lyrics" had an official term. Thanks for the enlightenment!

too many jennifers

at 08:36 on July 8th, 2008

These are kosher edamame from Le Sushi in Reseda, California.

too many jennifers has contributed a photo to this story.

The different sides of nature

at 09:10 on July 8th, 2008

This photo was taken during an kiteboarding section at Hjälmaren lake near Örebro, Sweden. The wind was blowing nicelly and we spend some good hours in the water.

The different sides of nature has contributed a photo to this story.

cdelbueno

at 09:30 on July 8th, 2008

edamame at nobu in las vegas.

cdelbueno has contributed a photo to this story.

hmcoby

at 11:00 on July 8th, 2008

Fresh Edamame eaten on Saji Ya's patio. Grand Ave, St. Paul, Minnesota

hmcoby has contributed a photo to this story.

photograph_e

at 11:50 on July 8th, 2008

Edamame is so delicious. My 11-month-old daughter loves to eat them with us, too.

photograph_e has contributed a photo to this story.

arecity

at 12:40 on July 8th, 2008

lunch: soy-dipped pan fried tofu with sesame seeds, edamame, and Kukicha Tea

arecity has contributed a photo to this story.

julianw

at 12:47 on July 8th, 2008

I like the new-words-in-the-dictionary coverage from South Africa's Mail and Guardian.

Are you a wing nut pretexting as a netroots advocate on webinars and thought you could blend in anonymously?

Or a soju-, prosecco- and edamame-loving pescatarian -- but not part of an esoteric religion?

Well, your cover was blown on Monday as words from "wing nut" (one who advocates extreme measures or changes) -- to "pescatarian" (a vegetarian whose diet includes fish) were added to the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, a reference work for American wordsmiths.

picturegift

at 17:10 on July 8th, 2008

This photo was taken at Midori in Lansing, MI. My husband and I were taking our 5 year old daughter to experience her first taste of sushi. She loved it! Especially this edamame!

picturegift has contributed a photo to this story.

dacket

at 19:02 on July 8th, 2008

Edamame served at a lovely Japanese restaurant at JFK Airport in NYC, January 2007

dacket has contributed a photo to this story.

tysamson

at 19:44 on July 8th, 2008

It was a rainy, melancholy day. Edamame had been put on a very fitting bamboo mat by the window and my camera was calling me.

tysamson has contributed a photo to this story.

tnawara

at 20:43 on July 8th, 2008

On the way to Hong Kong...layover in Tokyo Narita airport...had to grab some edamame. Now, of course, you can get edamame and Asahi in the States, but there was something special about this quick snack because it was in Japan.

tnawara has contributed a photo to this story.

J.E.M

at 17:07 on July 9th, 2008

NP_1_830673 has contributed a photo to this story.

mchawk

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 03:56 on July 12th, 2008

Rob Peters, I like this story. It's good stuff - even though it seems to have mutated from a discussion of lexicography to edamame.

For more fun with language, read Giles Coren's recent article on the abundance of new words:

According to the Global Language Monitor (whatever in the world that is) the English language is on the cusp of a glorious landmark. For there are at present 995,844 official words in this lush and Lucullan language of ours, with the millionth expected to be coined on April 29, 2009.