Malware and Other Geek Terms Infect Merriam-Webster Dictionary. "Fanboy" to Annoy New Neighbors Fanbelt and Fancied

Posted 07/08/2008 at 11:50am | by Paul Lilly

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"At one point during the webinar, 'W00ts!' were heard emanating from the conference room as Harry, a renowned Team Fortress 2 fanboy, demonstrated how to properly tea-bag an opponent."

Most English teachers would have a field day with the above sentence, but with the exception of 'tea-bag,' the rest of the terms are now officially recognized. Perhaps Merriam-Webster is undergoing a mid-life crisis, or maybe as geeks we've leveled up our ability to affect the English language. Either way, a bevy of new terms are being added to the latest version of the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, and many of them could be pulled straight out of any computer forum. Among the new terms are:

• webinar
• netroots
• pretexting
• fanboy
• malware

Not all the new words are technology terms, but many of them do reflect societal trends. "As soon as we see the word used without explanation or translation or gloss, we consider it a naturalized citizen of the English language," explained Peter Sokolowoski, an editor-at-large for Merriam Webster.

Also among the entries is mondegreen, "a word or phrase that results from a mishearing of something said or sung." For example, proclaiming 'Donuts make my brown eyes blue' instead of 'Don't it make my brown eyes blue,' as Crystal Gale intended. Have one of your own? Merriam-Webster's soliciting submissions until Friday, July 25, 2008, at which point they'll reveal their favorites starting the week of July 28. And of course don't forget to post it in the comments section.