The twelfth and latest edition of the Concise Oxford English Dictionary is here, and it boasts 400 new entries of slang among its list of words.
Following the addition of OMG, LOL and <3 to its online list of words earlier this year, this newest update proves that the OED has been making a concerted effort to keep up with today’s slang and textspeak. In fact, “textspeak” is one of the newest words to be added to the list. Other tech and social media related slang includes “sexting”, “cyberbullying” and “retweet”.
(MORE: When Fingers do the Flirting)
There are also some sartorial inclusions in the new edition, though disappointingly they include “mankini” and “jeggings,” which we hoped would never catch on enough to warrant a dictionary reference. But the OED makes it up to us with the inclusion of our favorite expression of joy: “woot.”
Of course, no one who actually uses the Internet and spends time with young people on a regular basis will need a dictionary definition to know what these new words mean. But as least now the olds can understand what we’re talking about.