New words are born out of practically everything and anything these days. Depending on how relevant they are and how often they can be heard being used, a term can, almost overnight, go from being an internet joke to becoming a staple in everyday speech, rewarded with the ultimate badge of honor: a dictionary entry. And this year, over 6000 were added to the Cambridge Dictionary, many of which seem to have been plucked straight from our social media feeds.
Chosen for their frequency of use, standout additions in Cambridge University’s dictionary update this year include “skibidi,” “tradwife,” and “delulu.” Stemming from memes, contractions boomers are usually quick to dismiss as nonsense, and viral moments only those chronically online can recognize, these terms, that were once considered niche, now have official spellings and definitions, making them part of the modern English language thanks to their widespread popularity over the past few months or years.
Colin McIntosh, lexical program manager at the Cambridge Dictionary, explained that these additions were not made in response to trends but rather from the belief that they are here to stay. In a recent statement, he also noted that, as internet culture increasingly permeates everyday life, it is vital for dictionaries, and other authorities of language, to adapt to the lingo people use to express themselves in this day of age.
“Internet culture is changing the English language and the effect is fascinating to observe and capture in the dictionary,” McIntosh said. “It’s not every day you get to see words like ‘skibidi’ and ‘delulu’ make their way into the Cambridge Dictionary. We only add words where we think they’ll have staying power,” he added.
As the Cambridge Dictionary welcomes a wave of new words, we handpicked a few of our favorites and included their official definitions to clear up any potential confusion or misunderstanding. Below, eight new words you can now use — and actually know what they mean too.
Skibidi
Definition: “A word that can have different meanings such as “cool” or “bad”, or can be used with no real meaning as a joke.”
Examples: “What the skibidi are you doing?” / “What was the most skibidi part?”
Tradwife
Definition: “A married woman, especially one who posts on social media, who stays at home doing cooking, cleaning, etc. and has children that she takes care of. Tradwife is short for traditional wife.”
Examples: “Trad wives are not just traditional stay-at-home mothers, but social media influencers making money for content.” / “Gen Z is watching a lot of tradwife content.”
Delulu
Definition: “Believing things that are not real or true, usually because you choose to.”
Examples: “You’re at a concert right at the back and you think an idol made eye contact with you… people may call you delulu.” / “As Gen Z say, I’ve entered my “delulu era”.”
Lewk
Definition: “A particular style, fashion, or outfit (= a set of clothes worn together), especially one that is unusual and impressive.”
Examples: “Your lewk is giving Barbie.” / “It’s good to have a signature lewk.”
Broligarchy
Definition: “A particular style, fashion, or outfit (= a set of clothes worn together), especially one that is unusual and impressive.”
Examples: “Your lewk is giving Barbie.” / “This girl knows how to serve lewks.”
Work wife (or husband)
Definition: “A woman with whom someone has a close, but not romantic, relationship at work, in which the two people help and trust each other in the same way that a married couple does.”
Examples: “Your work wife is someone you’re closer friends with than any of your other colleagues.” / “A survey from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), found that 25% of workers have had a work wife or work husband.”
Inspo
Definition: “Short for inspiration : something, especially something posted on the internet, that gives you ideas for doing something or that makes you want to do something.”
Examples: “His is one of my favourite accounts to follow for interior design inspo”. / “Here are 20 autumn styles with fringes for some beautiful hair inspo.”
Mouse jiggler
Definition: “A device or piece of software used to make it seem as though a computer mouse is moving so that it seems as though you are working when you are not.”
Examples: “With monitoring software, employers can easily detect mouse jigglers.” / “Some homeworkers started using mouse jigglers to give the appearance of being active on their computers.”
The post ‘Skibidi,’ ‘Tradwife’ and ‘Delulu’ Make It Into the Cambridge Dictionary appeared first on MILLE WORLD.
