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Tech Buzzwords Added to Dictionaries

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the don't-forget-web20 dept.

Mark Owen writes "With technology buzzwords becoming so commonly used in daily life, Webster and Oxford have both begun to include some new terms in their latest editions. Some of their newest additions include: adware, biodiesel, codec, digicam, google (as a verb), geocaching, hacktivism, mash-up, rewriteable, ringtone, spyware, and texting."

7 of 144 comments (clear)

  1. Re:'Texting' is a Noun? by aymanh · · Score: 2, Informative

    I was going to post the same thing as well, Oxford dictionary added "text message" as a verb (as in "I just got an $1800 ticket for text messaging while driving"), but "text" itself wasn't added as verb from what I found in the article.

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    python>>> q="'";s='q="%c";s=%c%s%c;print s%%(q,q,s,q)';print s%(q,q,s,q)
  2. Re:'Texting' is a Noun? by dereference · · Score: 4, Informative
    I thought 'texting' would be a verb

    Actually it's called a gerund, which is typically any noun made from appending "ing" to a verb. It's correctly a noun, as in, "Texting is fun."

  3. google is my dictionary by rucs_hack · · Score: 4, Informative

    in 99% of cases where I need to know how to spell a word, I type it into google.

    The 'did you mean' feature has yet to let me down.

    I don't know if they intended this, but it's so reliable that my dictionary stays on the shelf these days, and I barely ever have to use online dictionaries, except when I'm trying to locate a precise definition of a word.

    1. Re:google is my dictionary by shish · · Score: 2, Informative
      except when I'm trying to locate a precise definition of a word.

      define:word

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      I mod down anyone who says "I will be modded down for this", regardless of the rest of their comment
  4. Mash-up by ScottyH · · Score: 2, Informative

    Everytime I read this word I feel pissed off. I can't explain it...except for saying that it just seems so stupid.

  5. Merriam-Webster is stuck in the 19th century by 3dWarlord · · Score: 2, Informative

    They are the only dictionary that refuses to recognize "gullible" as a word.

  6. Not the first time by Anonym0us+Cow+Herd · · Score: 3, Informative

    Other technical words have become common in English.

    Lightbulb
    Radio
    Radar
    Sonar
    Sonic
    Radiation
    Electromagnetic
    Radiator
    Dishwasher
    Dryer
    Microwave
    Television
    Telephone
    Software
    Spreadsheet
    Photoshop (as verb)
    Internet
    Modem

    Because brand names that describe a unique concept tend to become generic words, that is why we see Google used as a verb. Common trademarks used as generic words: Aspirin, Kleenex, BandAid, etc. Therefore, you can expect to see new words like...

    TiVo

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