From Spaetzle To Microbead, New Additions To The American Heritage Dictionary

Every year, new words, senses and changes in word usage are added to the American Heritage Dictionary. Here & Now‘s Robin Young finds out some of the additions for 2016 from Executive Editor Steve Kleinedler (@SKleinedler) of the American Heritage Dictionary (@ahdictionary).

11 New Words In The American Heritage Dictionary

Delicious Food Terms

• maki: Rolled sushi that typically consists of vinegar-flavored rice and cooked or raw fish, wrapped in a sheet of nori, and usually cut into bite-size pieces.
• spaetzle: Irregularly shaped pasta or dumplings made usually by pressing dough through a colander or coarse sieve into boiling water.
• poke: A Hawaiian salad or appetizer traditionally consisting of cubed raw fish, often yellowfin tuna, that is marinated in soy sauce and sesame oil, and mixed with diced onions, sesame seeds and ginger.

General Interest Terms

• glamping: Camping in glamorous or luxurious conditions.
• journal: To write one’s observations or thoughts in a journal.
• katana: A long, single-edge sword for use with two hands, traditionally worn by samurai.
• showrunner: A person who has creative control over a broadcast series, as on television, and who manages its day-to-day operations.

Science And Technology Terms

• brick: A smartphone, tablet, or similar electronic device that connects to the internet that has become inoperable. verb To become inoperable. Used especially of electronic devices, such as smartphones and tablets, that connect to the internet.
• microbead: A tiny plastic pellet, usually less than 1 millimeter in diameter, used as an abrasive in personal hygiene products such as soap, shampoo, and toothpaste. Microbeads in personal-care products have been banned in the United States because they contribute to water pollution.
• ransomware: Malware that disables the normal operation of a computer until money or other ransom is paid to the person or organization responsible for the malware.
• Zika: A flavivirus that is transmitted primarily by aedes mosquitoes and that causes a mild disease with symptoms that include fever, rash, joint pain, and conjunctivitis. Infection by the Zika virus in a pregnant woman can cause microcephaly or other brain defects in her infant. The virus can also be transmitted via sexual contact and from mother to child. Also called Zika virus.

Copyright 2016 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.