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Do you know what a “jawn” is or what “sleep debt” means? You might not be familiar with these words, but now you can look them up on Dictionary.com. They’re two of the 566 new words the online resource has added to their database this week, as well as 348 new definitions for existing entries and 2,256 revised definitions.
According to Dictionary.com, the new additions “represent the always-evolving nature of English and our lexicographers’ neverending efforts to document it.” The website also updated entries to change binary-gendered phrases like “he or she” and “his or her” with gender-neutral “they” and “them” to use more inclusive language.
The 566 new words they’ve added include a variety of topics from pop culture and slang to artificial intelligence and climate. These are some of the new ones and what they mean:
- Jawn - “Something or someone for which the speaker does not know or does not need a specific name.” (Commonly used in Philadelphia.)
- Nepo baby - “A celebrity with a parent who is also famous, especially one whose industry connections are perceived as essential to their success.”
- Unsend - “To delete (a digital message such as an email or text) from the devices of the sender and receiver.”
- Blursday - “A day not easily distinguished from other days, or the phenomenon of days running together.”
- Greenwashing - “An instance or practice of promoting or affiliating a brand, campaign, mission, etc., with environmentalism as a ploy to divert attention from policies and activities that are in fact anti-environmentalist.”
- Chatbot - “A computer program designed to respond with conversational or informational replies to verbal or written messages from users.”
- Coffee nap - “A short nap, usually 15–30 minutes, taken immediately after drinking a cup of coffee, the claimed benefit being that the energizing effect of caffeine may be bolstered by a sleeping body’s drop in adenosine levels.”
- Sleep debt - “The difference between the amount of sleep a person needs and the actual amount of time spent sleeping, when the amount needed exceeds the time slept.”
- Shower orange - “An orange that is peeled and eaten under a steamy shower, the purported benefit being that the steam enhances the orange’s citrusy fragrance and creates a soothing experience for the person who is showering.”
- Sextortion - “Criminal behavior in which a perpetrator illicitly obtains sexually compromising material, such as images, and then threatens to publish it or harm the victim in other ways unless further material or a sum of money is surrendered.”
- Polysexual - “Noting or relating to a person who is sexually attracted to people of various genders, but not necessarily to people of all genders.”
Source: NY Post