As usual, and since time immemorial, Black folks’ language and culture has become part of the “official” American lexicon.
NBC News reports that Merriam-Webster on Tuesday added more than 1,000 new words and definitions, its most significant addition in years. And word phrases such as “throwing shade,” “microaggression” and “ghosting” were part of the new additions.
NBC News reports:
“Throwing shade,” for example, originated from black and Latino gay culture in the 1980s and has been popularized more recently through social media. It means to express contempt through indirect or subtle insults.
“Ghosting,” meanwhile, is to abruptly cut off contact with another person, usually a former friend or romantic partner.
And for yet other words that directly reflect the era of Black Lives Matter, there is another new entry, “microaggression,” a discriminatory comment or action that subtly—and sometimes unconsciously—expresses prejudice toward a member of a marginalized group; and “safe space,” a place intended to be free of bias, conflict and criticism.
Other new terms in the dictionary include “binge-watch,” (to watch a series of TV show in a quick succession) “arancini” (fried rice balls); and “humblebrag,” a self-aggrandizing statement cloaked in a casual reference.
Of course Lil Kim “threw shade” over 20 years ago …
… And black gay men had been using the word for eons before that. Better late than never?
According to a statement, the last time “Amerca’s best selling dictionary” updated its website and print edition was in 2014, when it added only 150 words.
SOURCE: NBC News
Werk Merriam-Webster! ‘Throwing Shade’ Has Been Added To New Dictionary was originally published on newsone.com