A Waikato University language expert has explained how thousands of "new words" added to the Cambridge Dictionary this year actually aren't as new as social media makes them out to be.
Informal terms such as "the ick", meaning "a sudden feeling that you dislike someone or something or are no longer attracted to someone because of something they do", and "boop", meaning "a gentle hit or touch on a person's or animal's nose or head, showing that you like them or as a joke" were added in the most recent update after gaining popularity on social media.
University of Waikato associate professor and linguist Andreea Calude told Breakfast these are often not entirely new terms, as the etymology can be traced back hundreds of years. She said the words are just used differently in a modern context.
"Words don't come out of thin air, we use existing resources in our language to make up new words, and they're nothing special … These are creatively drudged up, new words that we're needing in our modern life."
Calude broke down the etymology behind the noun "Chef's Kiss", which refers to the movement in which you put your fingers and thumb together, kiss them, then pull your hand away from your lips as a way of showing that you think that something or someone is perfect or excellent.
Andreea Calude said new words, terms and phrases "don't come out of thin air" and many had a rich history that influenced their modern use. (Source: Breakfast)
"This is something people have been doing since a long time ago, and was actually popularised in The Muppet Show by a Swedish chef character.
"So actually, back to the 1970s we've been doing the action, we just didn't have a word to talk about it. But now apparently we need one."
She said sometimes people may use a word that is an abbreviation without knowing it, because it has become a part of everyday use.
"In New Zealand and Australian english we don't even realise that EFTPOS is actually an abbreviation of Electronic Funds Transfer at Point Of Service. Most people wouldn't really know, but we use it as a word … so why not?"
Calude broke down the compound term "back reading" — the process of scrolling through old posts trying to find the story from the first initial messages and "piece your way through" to the modern conversation.
She listed the etymology back-formation which involves making a new verb from recycling an existing noun. For example, cohabitation gave rise to the verb cohabitate, and vaccination to vaccinate.
Or back-track which was to go back over a course or path and retrace your steps.
"There are links to existing words and we can never predict what are going to be the new words, but once we do get the new words we can look back and go 'ah this is where this word came from'."
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