As the year draws to a close, it’s time for our annual look at words that have been added to the American Heritage Dictionary. This year, the words include humblebrag, cosleeping and bibimbap.
Steve Kleinedler, executive editor of the American Heritage Dictionary, looks at some of the words added with Here & Now‘s Indira Lakshmanan and explains why certain popular words don’t get into the dictionary right away.
11 New Words In The American Heritage Dictionary
Food terms
bibimbop: A Korean dish of rice topped by cooked, seasoned vegetables such as spinach, carrots, and mushrooms, and often red pepper paste, sliced beef or other meat, and a raw or fried egg. The ingredients are mixed together by the diner before eating, often in a hot stone bowl.
churrasco: Grilled meat, especially when cooked on a skewer in Brazilian cuisine and served with chimichurri.
glera: A variety of grape grown primarily in the Veneto region of Italy used to make white wine, especially prosecco.
maitake: An edible polypore mushroom (Grifola frondosa) native to Japan and North America that produces large clusters of overlapping gray or brown fan-shaped caps, and grows at the base of trees or in cultivation.
General interest terms
humblebrag: A superficially modest or self-deprecating statement that is clearly intended to impress others.
listicle: An article or essay written in the form of a numbered list.
toe sock: A close-fitting sock with a separate sheathe for each toe.
zarf new sense: A cardboard sleeve fitted around a hot, disposal beverage container. (original sense: A chalicelike holder for a hot coffee cup, typically made of ornamental metal.)
Science and technology terms
cosleeping: The practice of parents and one or more infants or small children sharing a bed while sleeping.
doxx (also dox): To publically disclose the identity, address, or other personal details of someone, especially as a form of online harassment.
percutaneous coronary intervention: The opening of narrowed or blocked coronary arteries by means of balloon angioplasty (with or without placement of stents), atherectomy, or other techniques involving use of a catheter. (Now standard term for what used to be called coronary angioplasty.)
More Word Conversations With Steve Kleinedler
New Words From The American Heritage Dictionaries (2014)
Dictionary Adds 'Selfie' But Not 'Twerk' (2013)
Words We 'Literally' Want Out Of The Dictionary (2012)
American Heritage Makes Some Hefty Additions (2011)
Guest
Steve Kleinedler, executive editor of the American Heritage Dictionary. He tweets @SKleinedler.
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