Nearly 700 New Words Were Just Added to the Dictionary—Here Are All the Ones Related to Food
Every year, lexicographers at Merriam-Webster add new words to their esteemed tome, keeping a detailed record of our modern vocabulary as it is ever-changing by nature. In September, Merriam-Webster added a shocking 690 new words and phrases to its dictionary, including slang and popular terms from both the digital and analog worlds, as well as pop culture, climate, gaming, sports, business and — our personal favorite — food and how it’s made.
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“Signs of a healthy language include words being created, words being borrowed from other languages and new meanings being given to existing words,” the popular American publisher noted in a post detailing the dictionaries new additions. “Based on our most recent research, we are pleased to inform you that English is very (very!) healthy.”
Pulling from a wide range of sources, the new additions represent our language as we know it today, making room for popular abbreviations like TFW (that feeling when) and TTYL (talk to you later), which have become increasingly popular over the years due to instant messaging and texting. Miriam-Webster may not have reached the official status of GOATED (greatest of all time) just yet, but their totally 'grammable list of 690 new words sure has them well on their way to it.
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Here’s a list of food-related (and food-adjacent) words that have been freshly added to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a handful of which have already been seen trending on social media for quite some time:
stagiaire (noun): a usually unpaid intern working in a professional kitchen as part of their training to become a chef: a cook who is doing a stage
stage (noun) 1: a usually unpaid internship in a professional kitchen that is part of a chef's training 2 : a person who holds such an internship: stagiaire
cheffy (adjective): characteristic of or befitting a professional chef (as in showiness, complexity, or exoticness)
emping (noun): a slightly bitter cracker or chip popular in Indonesia that is made from the dried flattened seed of a melinjo tree (Gnetum gnemon)
jollof rice (noun): a West African dish of rice cooked in a sauce of tomatoes and onions seasoned usually with garlic, thyme, hot pepper, and other spices and often accompanied by meat, fish, or vegetables
smashburger (noun) 1: a hamburger patty that is pressed thin onto a heated pan or griddle at the start of cooking; also: a patty (as of beans or ground turkey) prepared similarly 2: a sandwich featuring one or more such patties
bussin’ (adjective): African American English slang): extremely good: excellent; especially: delicious, tasty
chef’s kiss (noun): a gesture of satisfaction or approval made by kissing the fingertips of one hand and then spreading the fingers with an outward motion — often used interjectionally
zhuzh (noun): a small improvement, adjustment, or addition that completes the overall look, taste, etc. of something; verb: to improve in flavor or appearance by way of a small improvement, adjustment, or addition — often used with up
mid (adjective) … 2 informal : neither very good nor very bad: so-so, meh
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