Today is Friday the 13th.
"Triskaidekaphobia" is the fear of the number 13. "Paraskevidekatriaphobia" or "friggatriskaidekaphobia" is the fear of Friday the 13th.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Reuters: Oxford dictionary shuns not so 'faboosh' words
LONDON, United Kingdom - Are you a tanorexic partial to a bit of flashpacking, but hate your cankles?
If you're not lost for words already then you are either ahead of the linguistic curve or privy to the secrets of a little-known vault at the Oxford University Press.
There, filed away and stored alphabetically on small white cards are the words submitted to but deemed unsuitable for inclusion in the Oxford English Dictionary (OED).
The thousands of words denied a place in the dictionary, which describes itself as the definitive record of the English language, are consigned to the vault because they are either too odd or have not gained enough currency in common usage.
"They are simply words that we have not included in our dictionary up until this point because we have not yet seen sufficient evidence of their usage," Fiona Mooring, senior assistant editor of the OED's new words group told Reuters in an e-mail.
"Tanorexia", an obsession with getting a tan, "flashpacking", glamorous backpacking, and "cankles", thick ankles are just three of the quirky words on record in the non-word vault.
A new word is not included in the OED unless it has "caught on". To make the cut, there must be several independent examples of the word in writing over a "reasonable" length of time.
"The exact time-span and number of examples may vary: for instance, one word may be included on the evidence of only a few examples, spread out over a long period of time, while another may gather momentum very quickly", said Mooring.
Until they win over the dictionary's editorial team, "ham", a non-Spam e-mail, and "prehab", preventive rehab, must stay in linguistic limbo.
Some of the dormant words date back to before 1918, when Lord of The Rings author J.R.R. Tolkien was editor of the OED.
Once a word has earned its place in the dictionary, it is not removed, even if it drops out of use.
The following are a sample of unused words from the vault:
Burqini: a swimsuit intended to comply with Islamic standards of modesty in dress
Cankle: thick ankle
Chimping: the action or practice of immediately reviewing each shot taken using a digital camera
Chin-strap: a type of beard, shaped in a narrow strip along the jawline
Clickjacking: the use of hidden buttons on a website to trick users into performing actions they do not intend, such as revealing personal information or switching on webcams
Faboosh: fabulous
Flashpacking: luxurious backpacking
Glamping: glamorous camping
Tanorexia: an obsession with getting a tan
Twetiquette: Twitter etiquette
If you're not lost for words already then you are either ahead of the linguistic curve or privy to the secrets of a little-known vault at the Oxford University Press.
There, filed away and stored alphabetically on small white cards are the words submitted to but deemed unsuitable for inclusion in the Oxford English Dictionary (OED).
The thousands of words denied a place in the dictionary, which describes itself as the definitive record of the English language, are consigned to the vault because they are either too odd or have not gained enough currency in common usage.
"They are simply words that we have not included in our dictionary up until this point because we have not yet seen sufficient evidence of their usage," Fiona Mooring, senior assistant editor of the OED's new words group told Reuters in an e-mail.
"Tanorexia", an obsession with getting a tan, "flashpacking", glamorous backpacking, and "cankles", thick ankles are just three of the quirky words on record in the non-word vault.
A new word is not included in the OED unless it has "caught on". To make the cut, there must be several independent examples of the word in writing over a "reasonable" length of time.
"The exact time-span and number of examples may vary: for instance, one word may be included on the evidence of only a few examples, spread out over a long period of time, while another may gather momentum very quickly", said Mooring.
Until they win over the dictionary's editorial team, "ham", a non-Spam e-mail, and "prehab", preventive rehab, must stay in linguistic limbo.
Some of the dormant words date back to before 1918, when Lord of The Rings author J.R.R. Tolkien was editor of the OED.
Once a word has earned its place in the dictionary, it is not removed, even if it drops out of use.
The following are a sample of unused words from the vault:
Burqini: a swimsuit intended to comply with Islamic standards of modesty in dress
Cankle: thick ankle
Chimping: the action or practice of immediately reviewing each shot taken using a digital camera
Chin-strap: a type of beard, shaped in a narrow strip along the jawline
Clickjacking: the use of hidden buttons on a website to trick users into performing actions they do not intend, such as revealing personal information or switching on webcams
Faboosh: fabulous
Flashpacking: luxurious backpacking
Glamping: glamorous camping
Tanorexia: an obsession with getting a tan
Twetiquette: Twitter etiquette
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