Cheers for Americana, a 170-year-old word relating to things typical in America such as history, folklore, culture and music, that makes its way to Merriam-Webster Inc.’s recently updated Collegiate Dictionary, finds Grumpy Editor.
Americana is among more than 150 words and definitions --- including more recently popularized social media, tweet, robocall and m-commerce --- added to the top-selling dictionary now available in print and online at Merriam-Webster.com.
"We've been tracking words like social media and tweet for years, of course, and now we feel their meanings have stabilized enough to include them in the dictionary,” relates Peter Sokolowski, Merriam-Webster's editor at large.
Among other new words and phrases:
boomerang child
bromance
cougar
crowdsourcing
duathlon
helicopter parent
parkour
walk-off
For definitions of these and other newcomers, go to:
www.merriam-webster.com/info/newwords11.htm
Comments