New Words in 5th Edition of the American Heritage Dictionary
The farklempt fashionista gave me a semifreddo that caused a brain freeze in my manboob
Studying what words officially enter into a language is a fascinating perspective into language and culture. New words provide insight into where the national consciousness is and in what direction it is moving. Some words are new and will be unfamiliar to most, while others have been in common parlance and are just now officially entering the dictionary. Many demonstrate new scientific or technological concepts that were never before possible or significant, such as zettabyte, nanobot, and carbon footprint. Others are familiar and surprising only in that they were not already in the dictionary, such as dream catcher and Abrahamic. And some words, like farklempt, I'd never heard of before.
From Steven Pinker's The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person's Guide to Writing in the 21st Century comes a list of all the new words added to the 5th edition of the American Heritage Dictionary (2011), where he sits on the usage panel. I have reproduced the list and provided the definitions below.
Abrahamic - Of or relating to any of the faiths traditionally held to descend from the biblical patriarch Abraham, especially Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
air rage - Abusive or violent behavior exhibited by airline passengers, often as a manifestation of impatience or stress.
amuse-bouche - A complimentary, bite-sized portion of food served before a meal or between courses in a restaurant.
backward-compatible - Compatible with earlier systems or elements of earlier systems: a new release of an operating system that is backward-compatible with earlier versions.
brain freeze - A headache resulting from the rapid consumption of cold food or beverages.
butterfly effect - A phenomenon in which a small perturbation in the initial condition of a system results in large changes in later conditions. Such phenomena are common in complex dynamical systems and are studied in chaos theory.
carbon footprint - The amount of carbon-containing greenhouse gases released into the environment by an activity, process, individual, or group, expressed usually as the equivalent in kilograms of carbon dioxide.
camel toe - The outline of the labia majora that sometimes is apparent in tight or formfitting clothing worn by females.
community policing - A police strategy for fostering trust in a community in the effort to enhance crime prevention, in which officers hold regular meetings with community organizations and patrol on foot or on bikes to develop personal relationships with community members.
crowdsourcing - A method of outsourcing work over the internet or similar network by appealing to people to contribute to the project independently or as a collaboration.
Disneyfication - 1. The establishment or alteration of business activity to conform with the goals or image of a corporation, especially in the elimination of controversial, sensitive, or potentially offensive activities or material. 2. The presentation of historical or cultural material in an expurgated or distorted fashion in an effort to appeal to a large number of tourists or consumers.
dispensationalism - A doctrine prevalent in some forms of Protestant Christianity that divides history into distinct periods, each marked by a different dispensation or relationship between God and humanity. Dispensationalism further holds that Christian believers will be transported to heaven without warning and that soon thereafter there will be a period of tribulation, followed by the Second Coming.
dream catcher - A handicraft item consisting of a circular frame strung with loose webbing worked into a pattern around a central hole and often decorated with feathers and beads, used in certain Native American traditions as a charm to separate good forces or influences from bad ones.
earbud - A small headphone that fits inside the ear against the outer opening of the ear canal.
emo - Rock music characterized by confessional lyrics about emotional topics.
encephalization - Increase in the ratio of brain mass to body mass during the evolution of a species or other taxonomic group. Higher degrees of encephalization are generally correlated with higher degrees of intelligence.
farklempt - Unable to speak because of emotion; choked up.
fashionista - One who designs, models, or markets high-fashion clothing or who is an ardent follower or consumer of the latest clothing fashions.
fast-twich - [I was unable to find a definition of this word on the American Heritage Dictionary website]
Goldilocks zone - The region in a stellar system where the surface temperatures of planets can sustain liquid water and therefore hold the highest probability for the existence of life. Also called habitable zone.
grayscale - 1. A series of shades ranging from pure white to pure black, used in displaying monochromatic images. 2. An image displayed using such a series of shades.
Grinch - A mean-spirited, spiteful person.
hall of mirrors - 1. A carnival or amusement park attraction consisting of a maze or series of passageways lined with mirrors, especially curved mirrors giving distorted reflections. 2. A confusing or disorienting situation in which it is difficult to distinguish between truth and illusion or between competing versions of reality. In both senses also called house of mirrors.
hat hair - Hair that is unkempt, matted, or tousled, especially from being compressed or disheveled as the result of wearing a hat.
heterochrony - A change or set of changes in the timing or duration of an organism's ontogenetic development compared with an ancestral species, resulting in morphological differences between ancestor and descendant.
infographics - (used with a singular verb) The practice or profession of using graphics such as charts or maps to convey quantitative information.
interoperable - Relating to systems, especially of computers or telecommunications, that are capable of working together without being specially configured to do so.
Islamofascism - The political ideology of militant Islamists viewed as an agency of oppression or hostility toward democracy.
jelly scandal - [I was unable to find a definition of this word on the American Heritage Dictionary website]
jiggy - 1. Moving excitedly, especially when dancing: getting jiggy on the dance floor. 2. Engaged in sexual intercourse: The couple went upstairs to get jiggy. 3. Affiliated or identified: politicians trying to get jiggy with younger voters.
judicial activism - Judicial lawmaking that exceeds the proper exercise of judicial authority, especially when concerned with matters ordinarily addressed by a legislature.
ka-ching - Used to indicate the ringing of the bell of a cash register being opened, often as a way of indicating money-making or profitability.
kegger - A party at which beer is dispensed from a keg.
kerfuffle - A to-do or fuss: "Among the oldest corpses from which readable DNA has been extracted is a Neanderthal man. Imagine the kerfuffle if somebody managed to clone him" (Richard Dawkins).
leet - A variety of spelling that uses numbers and symbols that approximate the shape of certain letters, using for example 1 and 5 for i and s, used primarily in texting and other typed electronic communication. [From l33t, alteration and leet respelling (using 3 for E) of elite (in reference to the use of such spellings by those with elite, or privileged, access status on early computer bulletin boards ).]
liminal - 1. Intermediate between two states, conditions, or regions; transitional or indeterminate: "While doctors operate, she hangs suspended in the liminal space between life and death" (Jeremy Eichler). 2. Existing at the limen. Used of stimuli.
lipstick lesbian - A lesbian who wears clothes and makeup that are considered traditionally feminine.
manboob - A male mammary gland that has become enlarged by the influence of estrogen or appears enlarged because of excess fat over the gland.
McMansion - A large new house, usually constructed as part of a suburban development and characterized by ostentation rather than quality of workmanship or architectural distinction.
metabolic syndrome - A combination of metabolic abnormalities that sometimes accompany abdominal obesity, such as insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, elevated fasting blood levels of glucose, and elevated blood pressure, and are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.
nanobot - A microscopic robot built from nanoscale components, typically 0.1 to 10 micrometers in length.
neuroethics - The branch of bioethics that deals with the ethical implications of prescribing psychotropic drugs, such as antidepressants or amphetamines, that alter thought, mood, or behavior, and of techniques that image the brain to reveal information about motive or intent.
nonperforming - 1. Performing poorly or unsatisfactorily: nonperforming schools. 2. Failing to produce income: a bank with many nonperforming loans.
off the grid - Without being connected to utility systems, such as those providing electricity and piped water: "a five-day retreat from the doldrums of daily life at a 400-acre homestead, off the grid and blissfully in the middle of nowhere" (Rachel Levin).
Onesies - A trademark for a brand of one-piece garments for infants. This trademark, often styled without a final s and in lowercase, sometimes occurs in print with the meaning "a one-piece infant's garment."
overdiagnosis - Diagnosis of a disease or medical condition more frequently than it is actually present.
parkour - A sport or athletic activity in which the participant seeks to move quickly and fluidly through an area, often an urban locale, by surmounting obstacles such as walls and railings and leaping across open spaces, as in a stairwell or between buildings.
patriline - A line of descent traced through the paternal side of a family.
phish - To request confidential information over the internet or by telephone under false pretenses in order to fraudulently obtain credit card numbers, passwords, or other personal data.
quantum entanglement - The physical condition of two more particles or physical systems being in quantum states each of which may only be described by reference to the others, especially when the particles or systems are separated in space.
queer theory - A school of cultural and literary criticism, influenced by poststructuralist thought, that questions and subverts common assumptions about sexuality and gender identity.
quilling - The art or craft of making decorative designs out of thin strips of rolled paper.
race-bait - To arouse the prejudice or fears of one racial group regarding another, especially as a political tactic.
recursive - 1. Of or relating to a repeating process whose output at each stage is applied as input in the succeeding stage. 2. Mathematics Of or relating to a sequential formula or function in which the first term or first set of terms is given, but in which subsequent terms are defined in relation to preceding terms. 3. Computers Of or relating to an algorithm or procedure which refers to itself in its definition or calls itself in its execution. 4. Linguistics Relating to or characterized by recursion.
rope-a-dope - 1. Relating to or being a strategy in boxing in which one fighter covers up and often leans back against the ropes to allow the opponent to become exhausted by throwing punches so that the opponent cannot defend effectively late in the fight and is thus defeated. 2. Relating to or being a strategy in which one behaves passively or with little aggression until an opportune moment arises for successful action.
scattergram - A graph showing data for two or more variables as coordinates in a Cartesian system of two or more axes, often appearing as scattered or clustered dots. Also called scatter diagram, scatterplot.
semifreddo - Any of various partially frozen desserts with a mousselike consistency, made with eggs, cream, sugar, flavorings, and often other ingredients.
sexting - The digital transmission of sexually explicit messages or images, especially photographs or videos of oneself, usually by cell phone.
tag-team - 1. To wrestle as a member of a tag team. 2. To work together at an activity by taking turns.
time-suck - Something that requires an inordinate amount of time and is usually unproductive or unsuccessful.
tranche - 1. A portion of a total, especially of a block of assets such as cash or securities: the riskiest tranche of the bond offering; money delivered in two tranches. 2. A cut or slice of meat: a tranche of sirloin.
ubuntu - A philosophical doctrine or approach to life that emphasizes social unity and generosity of spirit.
unfunny - Not funny: "a desperately unfunny gangster spoof" (Roger Ebert).
universal Turing machine - A Turing machine that can do the work of any possible Turing machine and is thus powerful enough to perform any calculation, given enough time and memory. Also called universal computer, universal machine.
vacuum energy - Background energy in a vacuum associated with vacuum fluctuations.
velociraptor - A small carnivorous theropod dinosaur of the genus Velociraptor of the Cretaceous Period, having sickle-shaped talons, a long flat snout with sharp teeth, and feathers on the forelimbs.
vocal percussion - Any of various musical techniques in which sounds resembling a percussion instrument are produced in the vocal tract.
waterboard - 1. Sports Any of various boards, such as a kiteboard or wakeboard, used in waterboarding. 2. A board to which a person is attached when being subjected to waterboarding. [These are the definitions given although I don't think they reflect the usage that is generally meant.]
webmistress - A woman whose occupation is designing, developing, marketing, or maintaining websites.
wetware - The human central nervous system considered as a computing device or part of a computing device.
Xanax - A trademark for the drug alprazolam.
xenoestrogen - Any of various chemical compounds, especially those present in manufactured items or in agrochemical or industrial waste, that imitate natural estrogens and thus disrupt the normal endocrine system.
x-ray fish - A small freshwater fish (Pristella maxillarus) native to South America and often kept in home aquariums, having an almost transparent body with a black stripe on the dorsal fin. Also called x-ray tetra.
yadda yadda yadda - And so forth; et cetera.
yellow dog - 1. A mean or contemptible person or thing. 2. A staunchly loyal member of the Democratic Party who consistently supports other Democrats.
yutz - A foolish, annoying, or socially inept person.
Zelig - 1. One who unconsciously mimics the traits or appearances of those with whom he or she associates. 2. One having a ubiquitous, often inconspicuous presence: "[He] is a sort of Zelig of modern politics, popping up and blending in at momentous occasions" (Alessandra Stanley).
zettabyte - 1. A unit of computer memory or data storage capacity equal to 1,024 exabytes (270 bytes). 2. One sextillion (1021) bytes.
zipline - A transportation system or piece of recreation equipment consisting of a cable stretched between points of different elevations, a pulley, and a harness or bar for attaching a rider, who moves by gravity.