Hashtag, selfie, and tweep join over 150 new words and definitions added to Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary in 2014, available now in print and online at Merriam-Webster.com.
Merriam-Webster says that the new additions to the dictionary reflect the growing influence technology is having on human endeavor, especially social networking, once done mostly in person.
"So many of these new words show the impact of online connectivity to our lives and livelihoods," explains Peter Sokolowski, Editor at Large for Merriam-Webster. "Tweep, selfie, and hashtag refer to the ways we communicate and share as individuals."
“Selfie”—recently named Oxford Dictionaries’ “Word of the Year” means an image of oneself taken by oneself using a digital camera especially for posting on social networks.
Meanwhile, hashtag became popular due to mcroblogging site Twitter. Merriam-Webster defines it as a word or phrase preceded by the symbol # that classifies or categorizes the accompanying text (such as a tweet).
A tweep is a person who uses the Twitter online message service to send and receive tweets.
Some of the other words included in the Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary are: big data, catfish, crowdfunding, fracking, gamification, pho, social networking and poutine.
Merriam-Webster encouraged netizens to join the New Words conversation on Twitter using hashtag #MW2014NewWords.
Merriam-Webster says that the new additions to the dictionary reflect the growing influence technology is having on human endeavor, especially social networking, once done mostly in person.
"So many of these new words show the impact of online connectivity to our lives and livelihoods," explains Peter Sokolowski, Editor at Large for Merriam-Webster. "Tweep, selfie, and hashtag refer to the ways we communicate and share as individuals."
“Selfie”—recently named Oxford Dictionaries’ “Word of the Year” means an image of oneself taken by oneself using a digital camera especially for posting on social networks.
Meanwhile, hashtag became popular due to mcroblogging site Twitter. Merriam-Webster defines it as a word or phrase preceded by the symbol # that classifies or categorizes the accompanying text (such as a tweet).
A tweep is a person who uses the Twitter online message service to send and receive tweets.
Some of the other words included in the Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary are: big data, catfish, crowdfunding, fracking, gamification, pho, social networking and poutine.
Merriam-Webster encouraged netizens to join the New Words conversation on Twitter using hashtag #MW2014NewWords.
