The times they are a changin’, and with it our words. While most ‘new words’ come and go with the fads that inspired them (think, man bun), a select few transcend a moment in time and are enshrined forever in the dictionary.
New words and phrases to help describe new ways to communicate (Insta), travel (uber), and meet (tinder date). So how are words added to the dictionary and what are our favourite recommendations for the year so far?
To be added to the Macquarie Dictionary a word must be in common use by the community. That is, it needs to be used by a number of people, across several mediums (books, news, radio, film etc), for a sustained period of time.
However, if you have a word that the Macquarie Dictionary needs to hear about you can recommend it and maybe fast track its progress to the dictionary’s pages.
Our five favourite recommendations for 2019 are:
1. Dogfishing – on a dating app, using a photo featuring a dog when the dog doesn’t belong to you.
2. Prangry – pregnant and angry at the same time.
3. Sneating – the practice of accepting a date with the intention of securing a free meal [i.e. a blend of sneaky and eating].
4. Proogle – to look up something on Google to prove a point.
5. Pupuccino – a drink made for dogs at cafes.
Let us know your favourite new words or learn some old ones by grabbing a dictionary from the library.
