New Words
Below are some of the new words to enter our most recently published dictionary of current English: the Concise Oxford English Dictionary (Revised Eleventh Edition).
n. Medicine a surgical operation involving the removal of excess flesh from the
abdomen.
adj. (of a person's body)
toned by aerobic exercise: aerobicized Hollywood
women.
n. terrorist acts intended
to disrupt or damage a country's agriculture.
– derivatives
agroterrorist n.
n. Scottish a person's buttocks.
– origin 1930s: prob.
a blend of behind and hough +
-ie.
– phrases
best of breed
· any item or product considered to be the best of
its kind.
n.
2. chiefly US the unintended adverse results of a political action or
situation.
n. a celebrity who is well
known in fashionable society.
– origin 1930s: blend
of celebrity and debutante.
n. a type of hip-hop or
rap music characterized by repeated shouted catchphrases and elements typical of
electronic dance music, such as prominent bass.
adj. US, chiefly black slang (of a person) very
excited or full of energy.
– origin 1990s: perh.
an alt. past part. of crank1 or a blend of
crazy and drunk.
– phrases
the elephant in the room a major problem
or controversial issue which is obviously present but avoided as a subject for
discussion because it is more comfortable to do so.
n.
1.
· a fine dispersion of one liquid or pur饤 food
substance in another: ravioli with pea and ginger
emulsion.
n. chiefly
US the man-made features used in landscape architecture,
e.g. paths or walls, as contrasted with vegetation.
– derivatives
hardscaping n.
n.
· informal a person,
especially a youth, wearing a hooded top.
– origin 1960s: of
unknown origin.
n. a person who is
advised, trained, or counselled by a mentor.
n. (in cosmetic surgery) a
procedure in which multiple tiny injections of pharmaceuticals, vitamins, etc.
are delivered into the mesodermal layer of tissue under the skin, to promote the
loss of fat or cellulite.
n. (in East Africa) an
older person; an elder.
– origin Kiswahili,
'ancestor, parent, old person'.
adj. tending to cause
obesity.
n.
3. Brit. informal a stupid person.
n. (in Japanese cookery) a
sauce or dip made with soy sauce and citrus juice.
– origin Japanese, from
pon 'smack, pop' + zu, from su 'vinegar'.
n. a wild, crazy, or
violent person.
adj. wild, crazy, or
violent.
– origin 1920s:
appar. an alt. of rage.
n.
3. (also extraordinary rendition) (especially in the US) the practice of sending a foreign criminal or
terrorist suspect covertly to be interrogated in a country with less rigorous
regulations for the humane treatment of prisoners.
n. a new term created from
an existing word in order to distinguish the original referent of the existing
word from a later one that is the product of progress or technological
development (e.g. acoustic guitar for guitar).
– origin 1980s: blend
of retro- and -onym.
n. informal guitar riffs, especially in rock music.
n. the practice of spying
on the user of a cash-dispensing machine or other electronic device in order to
obtain their personal identification number, password, etc.
– derivatives
shoulder-surfer n.
n. (in the UK) a
self-invested personal pension, a pension plan that enables the holder to choose
and manage the investments made.
v. subject to
psychological therapy: you don't need to therapize or fix
each other.
adj. (of a mobile phone)
having three frequencies, enabling it to be used in different regions (typically
Europe and the US).
n. Brit. informal a stupid or foolish
person.
– origin 1980s: perh.
a blend of twit1 or twat and plonker.
v. [often as noun
upskilling] teach (an employee) additional
skills.
· (of an employee) learn additional
skills.
n. US a very divisive political issue, regarded as a basis for drawing
voters away from an opposing party whose supporters have diverging opinions on
it.
n. a fitness routine that
combines Pilates exercises with the postures and breathing techniques of
yoga.
– origin 1990s: blend
of yoga and Pilates.
n.
3. a computer controlled by a hacker
without the owner's knowledge, which is made to send large quantities of data to
a website, making it inaccessible to other users.
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