New vernacular for the millennium
By Jennifer Hathaway Argonaut Staff Writer
Random House adds new words to the 2001 edition
Random House Webster's College Dictionary has added words such as "eye-candy," "dot-com," "my bad" and "edgy" to its 2001 edition.
Many of the new words being added are related to computer systems
and the Internet.
"The words are a reflection of how dot-com our whole world
is now," Brandi Holmes, a University of Idaho junior, said.
Words like "Webmaster," "exabyte" and "ZIP"
have all been added to the 2001 edition.
In 1947, Random House included the word "baby-sit"
in its college dictionary.
Since then, new words are added every year.
In the 1940s, words such as "cheeseburger," "bikini,"
and "no-show" were added to the dictionary.
Although these words were relatively new, they soon became incorporated
into mainstream language.
Words such as "dreadlocks," "videotape" and
"aerospace," added in the 1950s, have become words
used by "Gen Y" (a term appearing in the 2001 edition)
regularly and without second thought.
Just about everyone uses a "microwave," a term which
made its appearance in the 1960s Webster's College Dictionary.
How many students have earned "brownie points" or own
a "bumper sticker?"
Both terms surfaced in the 1960s editions.
Are "disco" and "pantyhose" (1970s) words
still prevalent in American society? Do "yuppies" use
the "ATM" and the "Internet?"
Although these words seem very familiar now, they were once new
slang.
So this year, when words like "yottabyte" (1000 zettabytes)
or "gaydar" (the ability to recognize that a person
is gay) move into everyday vocabulary, the meaning is just a
page-flip away.
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