New entries in the OED September 2009

The OED issues a review every quarter listing the new and revised entries for that quarter. Recently editors have worked mostly on words beginning re- so there are a lot of new verb entries beginning re- eg redefend, redeliberate and refinish. Just because the word has only just entered the OED for the first time, this does not mean that the word itself is new. The first citation for refinish is 1773. A lot of entries containing 'red' have been added too, eg red wine vinegar. This is another old term, although it was not in the dictionary before; there is a citation from 1597.

Apart from words beginning R, other new entries include:

anyhoo: variant of 'anyhow'

c'est la vie: French for 'that's life' but with the definition "expressing resignation at, or acceptance of, things as they are"

clonable: that can be cloned

dot-org: internet address

First Nation: North American peoples of Canada

globaloney: nonsensical talk concerning global issues

soundclash: piece of music with contrasting elements

toasted cheese: self-explanatory

twitterpated: love-struck

unmixed blessing: wholly advantageous situation or thing

warm-down: cooling-down session after exercise

waterboarding: interrogation technique which simulates drowning

wire transfer: method of transferring funds

You can read the Chief Editor's report and the full list of the new and revised entries on the OED website. Remember that virtually all UK libraries subscribe to the online version of the OED and your library ticket will give you access (ask your librarian for a PIN number if necessary - it's a fantastic resource available free of charge to library members). 

Comments

[Kai]

Speaking of words, 'PIN number'?

[Virtual Linguist]

Thanks Kai. I just wanted to avoid the ambiguity of asking the librarian to give you a pin. The word 'number' is often added to PIN, despite the tautology, eg Northumberland Library Service here: http://www.northumberland.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=4062