 |
 A popular dictionary adds more than 100 new words.
|
|
|
Place your cursor over the slideshow for captions. |
“If somebody is using [a word] to convey a specific idea and that idea is successfully conveyed in that word, it’s ready to go in the dictionary,” Peter Sokolowski, an editor for Merriam-Webster, told CBS News.
So, take a mental health day, go lie out by the infinity pool, eat some edamame, and read up on the 100 new terms to increase your word power. Here are 10 to get you started:
dwarf planet: a celestial body that orbits the sun and has a spherical shape but is too small to disturb other objects from its orbit
edamame: immature green soybeans, usually in the pod
fanboy: a boy who is an enthusiastic devotee, such as of comics or movies
infinity pool: an outdoor swimming pool with an edge over which water flows into a trough but seems to flow into the horizon
kiteboarding: the sport of riding on a small surfboard propelled across water by a large kite, to which the rider is attached
mental health day: a day that an employee takes off from work to relieve stress
mondegreen: a word or phrase that results from mishearing something said or sung (from the mishearing in a Scottish ballad of “laid him on the green” as “Lady Mondegreen”)
pescatarian: a vegetarian whose diet includes fish
supercross: a motorcycle race held in a stadium on a dirt track having hairpin turns and high jumps
wing nut: a person who supports radical or extreme measures
Some of the other words and phrases are dark energy, malware, and air quotes. Wonder what they mean? Look them up! The new dictionary will hit bookstores in September.
|
Check out Merriam-Webster’s kids’ site at http://www.wordcentral.com/
Here are a handful of words making their Webster’s dictionary debut. Can you find them all?
Try our word search!
Try our word search!
Back to Top
 |
 |
 |
Add to del.icio.us |  Subscribe Now |
RSS