More geek speak hits Merriam-Webster
Geeks are big on making up words. We create (phishing), truncate (lol), appropriate (spam), and verbinate (just it) new jargon all the time.
Much like with 鈥渧erbinate,鈥� these words aren鈥檛 always recognized by the powers at Merriam-Webster. But, each year, the dictionary company acknowledges about 100 new words that most people have been using for years. Today the lexicographers announced 2008鈥檚 list. Webster welcomed several sci/tech terms to the English language this year. Among them:
鈥� Dark energy (traced back to 1998): hypothetical form of energy that produces a force that opposes gravity and is thought to cause the accelerating expansion of the universe.
鈥� Dwarf planet (1993): celestial body that orbits the sun and has a spherical shape, but is too small to disturb other objects from its orbit. (They were a bit late on this one. The correct term is now .)
鈥� Fanboy (1919): someone who is an enthusiastic devotee, such as of comics, movies, or Friday鈥檚 release of the .
鈥� Malware (1990): software designed to interfere with a computer鈥檚 normal functioning.
鈥� Netroots (2003): grassroots political activists who communicate via the Internet, especially by blogs.
鈥� Pretexting (1992): presenting oneself as someone else to obtain private information. (I had never heard of this term before 2006鈥檚 .)
鈥� Webinar (1998): live, online educational presentation during which participating viewers can submit questions and comments.
Check out for a longer list, including the non-geeky edamame, jukebox musical, and kiteboarding.
