The
web-savvy
amongst you will know that just as a mouse is no longer only a rodent, a
tweet
isn't necessarily a noise made by a bird.
Nearly a quarter of the new words added to the latest edition of the Chambers Dictionary come from internet culture, with the economic recession and">and">and">and">and">and">and">and climate change also contributing strongly.
The internet age's ability to reinvent old words with new meanings continues.
The cloud
, you may think, is the thing above your head which produces rain. It's not as simple as that any more.
We all know what pay is, right? And a wall is a wall – as in The Great Wall of... But what about a
paywall
? Can you work it out?
Moving onto the economy, words such as
quantitative easing
and">and">and">and
double-dip
recession have become familiar to followers of current affairs.
Amongst the environmental terms now appearing in the dictionary you can find
upcycle
and">and">and">and
precycle
as well as
carbon offsetting
.
National treasure, neet, man flu, crowdsourcing
and">and">and">and
staycation
are also officially recognised for the first time.
And there are some abbreviations made popular by email and">and">and">and social networking sites. When you're surprised you can write
OMG
(Oh my God) and">and">and">and if you really like someone,
BFF
(best friend forever) is the expression for you.