Dictionary publisher Merriam-Webster has added more than 250 new words to its lexicon, including “alt-right,” “sriracha,” and “froyo.”
The new words came from different fields like politics, business, technology, and popular culture, Business Insider reported.
Some of the words have been in use for a while, but have become more widely known due to cultural happenings or popular news stories. “Alt-right,” for instance, has been used since 2009, Business Insider reported, but became widely known during the 2016 election and recent events like the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, during a white supremacist rally.
New internet-related words include “hive mind” and “troll,” which means to post deliberately antagonistic content online.
Food-related words added were “froyo,” a shortened term for frozen yogurt, and “sriracha,” a sauce made from hot peppers that has become popular in fast foods and restaurant offerings of late, USA Today reported.
“Bibimap,” “choux pastry,” and “IPA” are other food-and-drink terms that made USA Today wonder whether Merriam-Webster had “onboarded” some foodies (“onboarded” is another new word this year).
The new words supplement more than 1,000 that were added to the dictionary in February, the New York Daily News reported, showing the ever-accelerating changes taking place in the English language.
They even added “word salad,” which denotes “a string of empty, incoherent, unintelligible, or nonsensical words or comments,” Business Insider reported.
Twitter users wondered at all the new words and added a few of their own for contention.
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