Published: July 18, 2008 12:49 pm      

Mondegreen finally makes list

Each year, several new words are added to various dictionaries, indicating changes in our national lexicon. As a wordsmith, this list – as well as information about words in general – fascinates me.

Maybe I should become a member of the American Dialect Society. Founded in 1889, the group is dedicated to the study of the English language in North America, and of other languages, or dialects of other languages, which influence it or are influenced by it. According to its Web site (www. americandialect.org), “members include academics and amateurs, professionals and dilettantes, teachers and writers.”

If you think about it, the words coined and used are indicators of subtle changes in our society. Think about all the Internet-related words and phrases that didn’t exist five years ago. As we have become more entrenched in the Internet and its role in our lives, these words become part of our daily language.

I recently learned a new word: “lexpionage,” which is the sleuthing of new words and phrases, or old words used in new ways. The word is a blend of “lexicon,” which refers to the vocabulary of a language and “espionage,” the practice of spying or sleuthing. Put them together and you get “lexpionage.”

Each year, members of the American Dialect Society vote on a word of the year. For 2007, members voted “subprime” as the word of the year. Subprime is an adjective used to describe a risky or less-than-ideal loan, mortgage or investment.

Merriam-Webster Inc. recently added more than 100 fresh entries to its new edition of the Collegiate Dictionary. Here, for your enjoyment, are some, along with the year in which Merriam-Webster first found them used in an English-language publication:

* Air quotes (1989): gesture made by raising and flexing the index and middle fingers of both hands, used to call attention to a spoken word or expression.

* Dirty bomb (1956): bomb designed to release radioactive material.

* Edamame (1951): immature green soybeans, usually in the pod.

* Infinity pool (1992): outdoor swimming pool with an edge over which water flows into a trough, but seems to flow into the horizon.

* Jukebox musical (1993): musical that features popular songs from the past.

* Kiteboarding (1996): the sport of riding on a small surfboard propelled across water by a large kite, to which the rider is harnessed.

* Malware (1990): software designed to interfere with a computer’s normal functioning.

* Mental health day (1971): day that an employee takes off from work to relieve stress or renew vitality.

* Mondegreen (1954): word or phrase that results from a mishearing of something said or sung. From the mishearing in a Scottish ballad of “laid him on the green” as “Lady Mondegreen.”

* Netroots (2003): grassroots political activists who communicate via the Internet, especially by blogs.

* Pescatarian (1993): vegetarian whose diet includes fish.

* Phytonutrient (1994): bioactive, plant-derived compound associated with positive health effects.

* Pretexting (1992): presenting oneself as someone else to obtain private information.

* Subprime (1995) 1: having or being an interest rate that is higher than a prime rate and is extended especially to low-income borrowers; 2: extending or obtaining a subprime loan.

* Texas Hold ‘em (1995): Poker in which each player is dealt two cards face down and all players share five cards dealt face-up.

* Webinar (1998): live, online educational presentation during which participating viewers can submit questions and comments.

A few years ago, someone coined the term “earwig” for those one or two lines from a song that will play over and over and over in your brain. (Yes, I know an earwig is an actual insect.)

That’s one of the adulterated new words that has daily application in my life.

Let me know some of your favorite words – old or new.

Jerianne Strange is news editor at the Glasgow Daily Times. She can be reached at jstrange@glasgowdailytimes.com.