More than 300 words and definitions newly appeared on Dictionary.com this week, to better "mirror the world around us," the site's managing editor said of the update.
Driving the news: Words made popular during the COVID-19 pandemic and others that reflect the race and justice dialogue that followed last year's police-killing of George Floyd were added to the web-based dictionary based on the Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.
Additions include...
- Definitions for "asynchronous" and "synchronous."
- "Long hauler," referring to people who experience lasting coronavirus symptoms.
- Initials such as DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) and JEDI (justice, equity, diversity and inclusion) also made the cut.
- CW (content warning) and TW (trigger warning) may fall alongisde media alerts that feature possibly upsetting or violent topics.
"We can thank Black social media for the fun — and multifunctional — smash slang hit of yeet, variously used as a joyful interjection or verb for forms of quick, forceful motions," Dictionary.com editors said of the updates.
- "We can thank artist Ty Dolla $ign for popularizing the zesty zaddy, an alteration of daddy that means 'an attractive man who is also stylish, charming, and self confident.'"
What they're saying: "It's a complicated and challenging society we live in, and language changes to help us grapple with it," Dictionary.com's managing editor John Kelly said.
