Do you remember the first time you heard the word “email”? How about “booting”? Or “text” as it relates to sending messages on phones? Or, speaking of text, “OMG”?
Our language is always changing. Lately, that change is propelled by words related to technology and the work of technology, such as texting. But there are other sources for new words or phrases, such as foreign foods and immigrants.
Merriam-Webster added more than 800 new words to its dictionary this month. Some I am familiar with; others are totally new. If you want your writing to be up-to-the-minute, try slipping in some of these.
Hophead: someone who likes beer.
Generation Z: people born in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Latinx: a gender-neutral version of Latino or Latina.
Portmanteau words: blended words such as mocktail: a nonalcoholic drink.
Iftar: the after-sundown meal taken by Muslims during Ramaden.
Avo: avocado.
Guac: guacamole.
Airplane mode: the setting of an electronic device during flight.
For more information, go to https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/new-words-in-the-dictionary-september-2018.
English Writing Teacher 