Cynthia Cieluch
Thursday, July 19, 2001
San Antonio Express-News
If your significant other calls you fat, stay calm.
She or he may be saying "phat."
"Phat," defined as "fashionable, stylish" or "very pleasing, excellent," is one of 150 new words added this year to Webster's New World College Dictionary, Fourth Edition (2001, IDG Books Worldwide Inc.).
That's right -- phat is now officially a word.
"Anything that is spoken or written is a word," said Michael Agnes, the dictionary's editor in chief. "The language is always changing. There's no stopping it."
The recently published revision of the dictionary -- which is celebrating its 50th anniversary -- features more than 163,000 entries, including 12,000 Americanisms (words coined in the United States), 850 illustrations, a world atlas -- and the new entries, including phat, dot-com, road rage and soccer mom.
Agnes, known as Webster's "Word Boss," says the dictionary simply includes words that people in the United States are using and recognizing.
"The people who use words make it a word," Agnes said. "That word exists whether we report it or not. And just because it's not in a dictionary doesn't mean it's not a word."
Try telling that to the teachers who repeatedly told you "ain't" (in the dictionary since the first edition) ain't a word.
"It's probably not best to use 'ain't' in your papers, but you can use it with your friends," Agnes explains. "You have to learn the ins and outs of the English language."
Vulgar words
Agnes says to be cautious when incorporating new words into your vocabulary.
"We're not language police, we're language reporters," Agnes says. "But we do hint to people if a word is vulgar, so they don't run out there, use the word and embarrass themselves."
To get into Webster's New World, a word must first be proven worthy. Agnes leads a 13-person staff that constantly searches for new words. He says they read many things, including newspapers, magazines, road signs and restroom graffiti. When a new word appears, it gets put on "word watch." While on "word watch," the word must be widely used for at least three years.
New words are often old words with new meanings, says Scott Baird, an English professor at Trinity University in San Antonio.
"As society changes, you have to invent new words to talk about the changes," Baird says. "We use the word 'mouse' in a way it wasn't used 20 years ago."
Another example: to "burn" a CD means to duplicate it, but someone who is not technology-savvy may think it means to set a CD on fire.
"You have to use judgment because the audience is so important," Baird said.
Webster's lists new words for 2001
Thursday, July 19, 2001
These are among the 150 words added this year to Webster's New World College Dictionary, Fourth Edition (2001, IDG Books Worldwide Inc.):
Dot-com: designating or of a company doing business primarily on the Web.
Eye candy: a person or thing that is visually appealing or superficially attractive and lacking depth of intellect or meaning.
Phat: fashionable, stylish, etc.; very pleasing, excellent, etc.
Road rage: violent, uncontrolled anger in, or angry behavior by, a motorist, as in reaction to stressful driving conditions.
Soccer mom: a middle-class, suburban American mother of school-age children, regarded as being, typically, child-centered, politically moderate, civic-minded, etc.
Contenders for a place in Webster's New World:
Irritainment: entertainment and media spectacles that are annoying but mesmerizing. Example: The O.J. Simpson trial.
Umfriend: a partner in a sexual relationship of dubious standing or concealed intimacy. Example: "This is Dylan, my, um, friend."
Stress puppy: a person who thrives on being stressed out and whiny.
Starter marriage: a short-lived first marriage that ends in divorce with no kids, no property and no regrets.
Mouse potato: variant of couch potato, describes a chronic Web surfer.
"Word of the Decade"
The '50s: rock 'n' roll
The '60s: Space Age
The '70s: lifestyle
The '80s: glitz
The '90s: cell phone
-- San Antonio Express-News
articles found here: http://www.startribune.com/viewers/qview/cgi/qfolder.cgi?template=variety_f&folder=389
i was lmao at "umfriend" soo great
love
harmony
"If God has spoken, why is the world not convinced?"
..........Percy Bysshe Shelley, English poet (1792-1822)