The Merriam-Webster Dictionary site lists 20 official new words in its 2007 Collegiate edition. They have gone beyond mere neologisms and have reached the point legitimate lexicographers consider them dictionary-worthy. They include these (definitions are mine):

• crunk — No one is sure of the original meaning, but now it’s a kind of music.
• ginormous – bigger than “big”
• perfect storm — everything worked out horribly wrong
• smackdown — four definitions listed, all involving someone getting hurt
• speed dating — Didn’t we used to call this activity “a mixer”?

Posted Wed, 12 Sep 2007 00:01:31 and filed under Vocabulary. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.