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Twitter reacts to addition of word from 'The Simpsons' to dictionary

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ANI London [U.K.]

The addition of a word from the American sitcom, 'The Simpsons', to Merriam-Webster's dictionary, has sent Twitter wild.

The word, 'Embiggen', is a verb meaning to make something bigger or more expansive. It is an informal and a humorous word.

Merriam-Webster posted on Twitter, "A noble spirit embiggens the smallest man. Also, 'embiggen' is now a word we enter".

A fan posted, "Congrats to my friend, @dangreaney, the creator of "embiggen"".

Another fan tweeted, "'Embiggen' is now in the dictionary. ADJUST YOUR DROP-DOWN MENUS".

"This is a crucial addition", posted another.

Another wrote, "This thread made me stop and wonder if it was April Fool's Day. Nope, it's still March".

 

A fan posted a GIF from the sitcom and wrote, "I believe this is the proper gif."

Embiggen is one of the latest 850 additions to the glossary. The iconic term has enjoyed popularity from its use in the Ms. Marvel series, but was first introduced in the 1996 episode 'Lisa the Iconoclast' of 'The Simpsons'.

The episode featured two neologisms: embiggen and cromulent. The show-makers asked the writers if they could come up with two words which sounded like real words, and these were what they came up with.

Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content

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First Published: Mar 06 2018 | 2:10 PM IST

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