The editors at Merriam-Webster have released a list of yet more words they've added to the dictionary for the end of 2019. I promise that I get no kickbacks from them for my word glee.
First, some of the entries show a relaxation on using full words.
■ Vacay, which means vacation
■ Sesh, which means session
■ Inspo, which means inspiration
Of course, people have been shortening words for ages. We say "gym" instead of "gymnasium," and "vet" instead of "veterinarian." And only now do I know that "bus" is short for "omnibus," which means "for all."
But gym, vet and bus are short for words with two or three more syllables. Vacay is only one syllable away from vacation. Does it save that much time? OK, inspo does save a few syllables, but I am curious where the letter "o" came from. The dictionary simply calls these words "informal."
Back in August, I asked the people at Merriam-Webster to explain the difference between "slang" and "informal." Assistant editor Sarah Carragher sent a prompt response. In part, she said, "As a general rule a 'slang' label describes 'extreme' informality and a speechlike quality, whereas informal just means, well, informal."
The next notable word was "fatberg," which I wish I had never learned. Merriam-Webster defines this as "a large mass of fat and solid waste that collects in a sewer system." I searched The Washington Post website to find fatberg occurrences. Most of them were in England, for some reason.
Please don't read this sentence if you're eating: In October, The Associated Press reported, "An analysis of a giant fatberg longer than the height of the Tower of Pisa found in sewers in western England reveals it to have been comprised of cooking fats, hygiene products and a few random items including false teeth."
The previously sane Museum of London had "chunks" of a fatberg found in London on display for a few months in 2018. A 20-foot fatberg was removed from the sewers of Baltimore in 2017, so the United States shouldn't feel left out.
I'm not sure it's a contest, but the Oxford English Dictionary beat out Merriam-Webster, adding the word to its pages in 2015.
Fatberg is a portmanteau, the smashing together of two words to form a new one. In this case, it combines "fat" and "iceberg." I can only hope that fatberg becomes an obsolete word by next year or so.
Two added words perhaps reflect a rugged individualist phase.
One is another portmanteau, "solopreneur," combining "solo" and "entrepreneur." I find this one mystifying because I thought an entrepreneur was someone who set out alone to build a business. Merriam-Webster's usage notes on "entrepreneur" say, "By the early 20th century entrepreneur appears to have taken on the connotation of go-getter when applied to an independent business owner, a quality that may also be found in the phrase entrepreneurial spirit, which began being used at about the same time." Doesn't that sound like the same thing as a solopreneur?
The other one is "free solo." This is a climb in which a rock climber uses no safety equipment such as ropes or harnesses. I would suggest that a synonym for this be "insanity."
And the editors added two fear-related words.
One is "coulrophobia," the excessive fear of clowns. The usage note says that the word was created in the 1990s, and the origin of the "coulro" part is unknown. And yet I'll concede it sounds a little fancier than "clownphobia."
The other fear word is "cynophobia," which is an extreme fear or hatred of dogs. The Greek word "kyno," for dog, makes sense. I can only imagine that felines were behind this word creation.
An add from the world of psychology is "autogenic training." This might also fit into the rugged individualist category. It's a method of making yourself relax by repeating soothing phrases to yourself. "I did not just see a clown walking a dog. I did not just see a clown walking a dog."
The autogenic part comes from the Greek word for "self-produced."
From the pop culture realm, we have a "stinger." This is the brief clip that runs during or after a movie's closing credits. These are often my favorite parts, so let's get this word trending.
From business, we have two interesting entries.
A "pain point" is an ongoing problem that bothers consumers. I searched Forbes business magazine for the phrase. One article suggested that some pain points, such as caregiving, health costs and lack of savings, show what sorts of things people should work on fixing. Wow, aren't you glad this has a name?
Studying pain points also allows entrepreneurs and likely solopreneurs to find areas for which business can be created to solve those problems.
And we have "haircut," which describes when an asset's worth decreases. I guess the word "loss" was too simple and haircut sounded better.
Read the dictionary's explanations for its 530 new words at arkansasonline.com/114words.
Sources include Merriam-Webster, Forbes, The Washington Post, Quora. Reach Bernadette at
Style on 10/14/2019