Oxford English Dictionary honors Roald Dahl

Among the additions found in the latest update to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) are terms like "moobs," used to describe a condition in which men develop pectoral fat deposits resembling breasts, and "yogalates," a hybrid exercise technique combining yoga and pilates.

There's also "swirlie," which occurs when someone's head is forcible flushed in a toilet bowl, and "YOLO," the popular acronym used among millennials for "you only live once."

Adjectives are also among the latest additions to the OED: "gender-fluid" is now officially a term used to describe non-binary gender identities, while "splendiferous" describes a state that is full of splendor.

The Oxford English Dictionary is updated every three months, with regular print releases of the 150-year-old dictionary.

While many of the new words found in the OED originate from slang terms or other languages, others have a longer history and have only been acknowledged as official words now.

Honors for Roald Dahl

A number of new terms were introduced to mark the centenary of the birth of children's author Roald Dahl. These include "scrumdiddlyumptious" and "Oompa Loompas" - the dwarf-sized, orange-skinned industrial workers as depicted in the 1971 film adaptation of Dahl's book, "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory."

"Ever since the release of 'Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,' while a person may be likened to an Oompa Loompa in stature or industriousness, such comparisons are now much more likely to allude to the Day-Glo effects of some fake tanning products," said Jonathan Dent, a senior editor for the OED.

"Other horrors created by Dahl including 'snozzcumbers,' the cannibalistic 'Bloodbottler,' and the ferocious 'Vermicious Knid' remain confined to the Dahl universe [...] for now," he added.

Another newly added word is the adjective "Dahlesque" - used to describe narratives resembling the works of Roald Dahl.

Online terminology

Further new additions to the OED meanwhile reflect online slang terms, which by way of social media have made it to boardrooms: "clickbait," "slacktivism," and "freemium" have all weaseled their way into everyday parlance, though not everyone may be familiar with the terms.

While "clickbait" refers to online contents deliberately designed to attract traffic, "slacktivism" is a portmanteau designed to indicate armchair charity, and "freemium" describes a combination of free business services that can be upgraded to premium standard for a fee.

Recent upgrades to the Miriam-Webster Dictionary, America's answer to the British Oxford English Dictionary, have also shifted their focus on internet terms and technology-related vocabulary. Social media and technological innovations are among the key driving forces for the ever-changing nature of language these days.

English around the world

The Oxford English Dictionary in its entirety encompasses roughly 600,000 words - though some claim that the English language has more than a million words in total (including outmoded terms).

These numbers should not, however, scare foreign speakers hoping to learn English: the average native English speaker has an active vocabulary of about 20,000 words and a passive vocabulary of 40,000 words. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, more than half of all daily interaction in the English language is based on variants of only around 100 words.

Many English-language words have also made their way into the German language, being acknowledged officially by the standard dictionary, the Duden.

ss/XX (dpa, Reuters)