Dictionary Additions

I came accross an article the other day about the words that Merriam-Webster has added to the dictionary this year. It's interesting to think about how our language changes constantly. I contacted Merriam-Webster to get a full list of additions, but they said that they don't release the full list (of about a hundred words) to the public. Here's my report on some of the gems from this year's additions. I've included a few pics as well as the dates that the words were first encountered in an english-language publication...and, of course, some commentary is included.

• Air quotes (1989): gesture made by raising and flexing the index and middle fingers of both hands, used to call attention to a spoken word or expression. (Thanks to Mike Meyers for modeling the air quotes for us).
• Dirty bomb (1956): bomb designed to release radioactive material.
• I thought it was interesting that this word was first used in 1956, but it is just now making its way into the dictionary.
• Edamame (1951): immature green soybeans, usually in the pod.
• Another old one. I was at the grocery store the other day, and I saw a bag of edamame. It's a good thing that it's now in the dictionary. I mean, had I not read the article, I would not have known what these were.
• Mondegreen (1954): word or phrase that results from a mishearing of something said or sung. From the mishearing in a Scottish ballad of "laid him on the green" as "Lady Mondegreen."
• Pescatarian (1993): vegetarian whose diet includes fish.
• Has anyone heard about the people who claim that Jesus was a pescatarian?
• Soju (1978): a Korean vodka distilled from rice.
• Soju is a word I have used several times since returning from Korea and wondered why people don't understand me. Maybe more people will know what I'm talking about now. Japanese Sake has been a well-known word in english for a long time.
  
• Subprime (1995) 1: having or being an interest rate that is higher than a prime rate and is extended especially to low-income borrowers; 2: extending or obtaining a subprime loan.
• If anyone has not heard this word --where have you been for the last few years?

I'll try to make the next post a bit less educational...or not!