Meaningful updates

How new words are reshaping our understanding of the world around us

What’s common between AI, Bazball, deinfluencing, nepo baby, ultra-processed, canon event, debanking, greedflation, semaglutide, and ULEZ? These all were on a 2023 list of new terms that the dictionary publisher Collins said reflected “our ever-evolving language and the concerns of those who use it”; the most notable was AI aka “artificial intelligence” and its (the abbreviation’s) use quadrupled over the past year.

The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) estimates that there are around 170,000 words in current use, plus an additional 47,000 obsolete words. But that’s not enough. In 2022 alone, over 650 new words — from slang to pop-psychology terms — were added to OED, catering to our ever-evolving need for neologisms.
 

Before we discuss how new words constantly enter our lexicon, let’s talk about the history of dictionaries. The first English dictionary was published by Robert Cawdrey in 1604, but Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce’s satirical definition of a dictionary is perhaps the most fascinating: “A malevolent literary device for cramping the growth of a language and making it hard and inelastic.” In 1828, Noah Webster broke the mould set by English lexicographers with An American Dictionary for the English Language, which included slangs, captured local variations of the language, and gave precedence to spelling out a word the way we speak. But the dictionary also reflected his poor views towards women and the Black community.
 

Nowadays, a dictionary is not the reflection of someone’s opinion but the culmination of the work of a multi-regional, multicultural group of lexicographers. Their recommendations — sometimes even profanities — are based on various parameters, including widespread, frequent, sustained, and meaningful use of a word in popular media and/or online content or even on social media platforms. For example, Bazball — an informal term coined after England cricket team coach Brendon “Baz” McCullum by sport journalists and bloggers for a style of Test cricket in which the batting side plays in a highly aggressive manner. Or, canon event: “An event that is essential to the formation of an individual’s character or identity”; the term was popularised by the movie Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.
 

Dictionaries not only serve as linguistic archives but also acknowledge the dynamic and evolving nature of language. They recognise that language is shaped by cultural shifts, technological advancements, and global influences, and thus, they continually adapt their content to reflect these changes. To better suit these changes, one language often borrows a word from other languages (approximately half the words in English are “looted” from other languages). People many a time use classical words for modern use-cases — for example, clone, from the Greek word klōn, which meant “twig” that was often used for growing a new plant from a small stem of an older plant.
 

Another easier way to fill the vocabulary gap is to just combine or blend two words — airport, lightyear, brunch, internet, or metaverse. What often works for such words is that their meaning could be understood or deduced the very first time one hears them.
 

Then there are examples of obsolete words gaining relevance but with a new meaning. The 1975 edition of the American Heritage Dictionary suggested only one definition for geek: “A carnival performer whose act usually consists of biting the head off a live chicken or snake.” Now it usually means “a person who is very interested in computers or science”.
 

With changing times, words often acquire additional new meanings. The pronoun “they”, traditionally used to refer to a group of people or things already mentioned or, more generally, to a group of people not clearly described, has recently been adopted to refer to individuals whose gender is unspecified. Similarly, “wicked” has evolved to mean excellent in modern parlance. Brand names, such as Xerox, Google, and Paytm, have transcended their trademarked status to become common verbs in everyday language.
 

Dictionaries strive to document words that are significant and likely to endure beyond fleeting trends, often filtering out fads and buzzwords that might not have a lasting impact. Lexicographers observe the usage of these words over time: If a word continues to be used widely and across various contexts, it may be considered for inclusion. However, if a word is only used for a short period or in a very specific context, it may be dismissed as a fad or buzzword. Consider the term “woke”, a byword for social awareness. Originally a buzzword derived from African American Vernacular English, where “awake” is often rendered as “woke”, it has become a topic of global debate and even social movement. Yet, some buzzwords, such as “anachronym (a phrase that remains in usage even as behaviours change)”, are yet to find a place in renowned dictionaries worldwide.

In the ceaseless evolution of language, dictionaries strive to capture the essence of our collective experiences. Through cultural assimilation and contextual reinterpretations, they shape a timeless narrative of human expression.

BTW, what’s your take on the controversial bid to urgently transition the smog-filled Delhi into something like ULEZ (or ultra-low emission zone)?