Oxford English Dictionary adds the words 'tweet,' 'e-book'
The Oxford English Dictionary is one of the most respected dictionaries in the world. It is no empty boast when the book's publisher calls it the 鈥渄efinitive record of the English language.鈥�
So what has made the cut for the edition of the online version of the dictionary (which is updated four times a year)? According to , the words 鈥渢weet鈥� and 鈥渆-reader,鈥� among others, are now official parts of our lexicon.
Other words that made the cut this time around include 鈥渃rowdsourcing,鈥� the verb form of 鈥渟tream鈥� (as in 鈥渟treaming a video on your laptop鈥�), and the expression 鈥渢o have a cow,鈥� which the Oxford English Dictionary chief editor John Simpson notes in his 鈥渋s often associated with the character Bart from the animated series 'The Simpsons,' but it is much older than the television show.鈥� The OED says the phrase originated in 1959.
According to Simpson, the inclusion of the word 鈥渢weet鈥� in the OED meant bending the dictionary鈥檚 rules. Usually, he wrote, 鈥渁 new word needs to be current for ten years before consideration for inclusion.鈥�
鈥淏ut it seems to be catching on,鈥� Simpson noted in what seems a bit of an understatement.
Other words or phrases that have made the cut in the past include 鈥淥MG鈥� and 鈥淟OL,鈥� both of which were added to the dictionary in 2011. The online version of the dictionary has new entries added to it by editors every three months.
The OED was first printed in 1884 and a second edition of the dictionary was released in 1989. A third edition has been in the works for some time, but Nigel Portwood, chief executive of the Oxford University Press, told the in 2010 that he doesn鈥檛 believe it will be printed in physical form since the online version of the OED is now so popular.
