'Sexting,' 'Retweet,' 'Cyberbullying' Added To Concise Oxford English Dictionary

The words "retweet", "sexting", and "cyberbullying" have been added to the Concise Oxford English Dictionary.

In celebrating its centenary anniversary, the twelfth edition of the Concise Oxford English Dictionary adds 400 new words, for a total of 240,000 total entries.

By including Internet slang and terminology in its latest edition, the Oxford University Press proves its commitment to "setting out new meanings for words".

Here are a few of the new words added and their accompanying definitions:

Retweet
verb: (on the social networking service Twitter) repost or forward (a message posted by another user)

Sexting
noun: the sending of sexually explicit photographs or messages via mobile phone

Cyberbullying
noun: the use of electronic communication to bully a person, typically by sending messages of an intimidating or threatening nature.

According to The Telegraph, "the new words were selected after being entered into a database of 2 billion words drawn from contemporary websites and texts to prove their ubiquity".

The dictionary's editor Angus Stevenson told Channel 4 News that "new words often reflect the era in which they were added to the dictionary," and commented on the impact that social media and the Internet have had on language.

It's worth noting that the term "retweet" was not widely used until 2008 (two years after Twitter was founded), when users began prepending their messages with "RT @username". Now with more than 175 million users, Twitter terminology has become common language, and the Oxford University Press undoubtedly agrees.

Other new words added to the Concise Oxford Dictionary include "woot" (used to express enthusiasm in online communication) and "kinematograph" (an early film projector).

Earlier this year, online initialisms "LOL" and "OMG" were added to the Oxford English Dictionary--a larger and more inclusive dictionary published by Oxford University Press.

Comments

[CKMJr]

12:31 PM on 08/20/2011

"The Society to Destroy the English Language One Word at a Time"

-Fark.com

there should be a separate dictionary for this

[Ramkshrestha]

06:08 PM on 08/19/2011

The old dictionary already big enough and now dictionary with more new words

[markIDGCONNECT]

10:55 AM on 08/19/2011

I feel like I should react conservatively to this news - it's pretty ridiculous to be honest. On the other hand, predominant sub-culture talk has always found its way into the major dictionaries. This isn't anything new.

Mark at http://www.idgconnect.com/blog

[abudotcom]

09:25 AM on 08/19/2011

Fantabulous.... ?

[Brent Rossen]

07:58 AM on 08/19/2011

Have they added refudiate yet, or misunderestimate?

[jigzaw]

04:49 AM on 08/19/2011

I understand including "sexting", but "retweet"?? Twitter is a brand, and "retweet" is a part of that brand. Is "Big Mac" in the dictionary? Also the acronyms? That's absurd. It seems the dictionaries are being edited by bored english majors now.

[kinnycut]

12:31 PM on 08/20/2011

Apparently it is not absurd for the retweeted.

[Samantha Monteleone]

01:00 AM on 08/19/2011

Oh god. The dictionaries are resorting to adding acronyms. I feel sad for our society.

[AlienSix]

12:15 AM on 08/19/2011

Where could we get a list of the new words?

[MMII]

10:50 PM on 08/18/2011

I understand that living languages are protean and dynamic, especially one as widely used and hegemonic as the English language. However, there should always be a lexical and linguistic standard, otherwise language would degenerate into unintelligible babble--a fate I'm convinced we are speedily headed towards. The Oxford University Press should resist the seduction of current slang trends and not document and anthologize these fad words and expressions. These words and phrases are fleeting, ad hoc expressions,whose futures are uncertain at best. Twitter, for example, might not exist next year or in the next few months, having been completely subsumed and forgotten by the twin juggernaut of fast-pace technological progress and the whimsical nature of consumer tastes.

Words and linguistic expressions like "retweet," "LOL," "OMG," ought to be relegated to special addenda and footnotes for the purposes of historical record and reference.

[PenguinLinux]

10:45 AM on 08/19/2011

As a writer and a fellow wordsmith; I wholeheartedly agree.

[DSevere]

04:44 PM on 08/19/2011

1. Language evolves and changes. If dictionaries did not follow suit, they would still only contain words that existed in Shakespearean times and thus, would be completely useless.

2. Using big words does not make you a good writer. Less is more.

[planetjeffy]

10:26 PM on 08/18/2011

here are a few more

sarahpalindrome - makes absolutely no sense forward or backward
newtcation - taking a holiday from your fake campaign
moronpaul - a person who throws his money away on a candidate that has no chance
huntsmanblunder - leaving a good job with the delusion of becoming president
santorum - (already taken)

[PenguinLinux]

10:45 AM on 08/19/2011

"santorum - (already taken) "

Thanks to Dan Savage, yes.

[NerdyStudent]

09:50 PM on 08/18/2011

Lolspeak is really itching to be added...along with everything lulzy.

[MIKEinNYC]

09:22 PM on 08/18/2011

The language evolves.

Before the Wright Brothers did we have the word "airplane". Did the word "computer" exist 100 years ago? You can't object to the inclusion of new words. These new entries in particular are perfectly cromulent words.

[brettrobbins]

08:01 PM on 08/18/2011

I didn't even know "tweet" was in the dictionary. Boy am I out of the loop.

[zfire]

06:38 PM on 08/18/2011

Sigh... Can't we just add these "words" to Urbandictionary.com and be done with it. I would hate to see a dissertation with the words sexting or retweet.

[Tristram Draper]

11:30 AM on 08/22/2011

How about if it is a dissertation on the effect of contemporary social media on sexual mores and the changes that have occurred over the last decade?

[zfire]

03:17 PM on 08/22/2011

Touche' Mr. Draper, touche'...

[mezzanoche]

06:33 PM on 08/18/2011

Phew, I was getting worried there for a minute...I thought they weren't going to add it. Glad that is settled. Now I can use that word and not feel like a 14 year old. ;-)