'Lolz', 'Ridic' and 'Mwahahaha' Added to Oxford Dictionaries Online - somersault

'Lolz', 'Ridic' and 'Mwahahaha' Added to Oxford Dictionaries Online

In TIME magazine (@TIME), Katy Steinmetz (@katysteinmetz) reports, “In recent years, several neologisms have achieved widespread usage thanks to technology and social media.” Consider:

hat tip, n.: in online contexts, used as an acknowledgement that someone has brought a piece of information to the writer’s attention

tweeps, pl. n.: a person’s followers on the social networking site Twitter

lolz, pl. n.: an expression of fun, laughter, or amusement; used especially online.

All three of these are now found in the Oxford Dictionaries Online (@OxfordWords). Other additions highlight trends that have become widespread, such as photobombing–spoiling a photograph by suddenly appearing in the camera’s field of view as the picture is taken….

Our modern taste for word-shortening is also on display, with additions such as ridic, an abbreviation for ridiculous, and UI, an abbreviation for user interface. And the ODO gives those maniacally laughing villains the recognition they’ve sought these many years, with mwahahaha finally getting a nod.

Read this in full.

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