Each year, new words are added to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Some of those words this year are "Air quotes", "Dirty Bomb", and even "Edamame".
With all the mortgage controversies over the past few years, it's a wonder why it took so many years to get the word "Subprime" into the dictionary. The official entry says it's an adjective and dates back to 1995:
"1 : having or being an interest rate that is higher than a prime rate and is extended especially to low-income borrowers <subprime mortgages> 2 : extending or obtaining a subprime loan <subprime lenders> <subprime borrowers>"
I find it interesting that even though the practice has been around since the mid-90's and foreclosure have been on the rise for the past couple of years because of subprime, that the word is just now making into the book of definitions.
What makes a word eligible to be an acknowledged word? The old saying used to be "Ain't ain't a word because ain't ain't in the dictionary," but the word ain't IS in the dictionary. It has several definitions and they date the word back to 1749. Why did it take so long to be put in the dictionary?
Are their words that you use in everyday language that are not in the dictionary? My husband says I make up words, but I know they'll be words soon enough!!
Comments(25)