Alt-right,’ ‘troll’ and ‘dog whistle’ among new entries added to Merriam-Webster dictionary

[Т А Кузнецова]

‘Alt-right,’ ‘troll’ and ‘dog whistle’ among new entries added to Merriam-Webster dictionary

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2017/09/18/alt-right

A troll doll. (Bill O’Leary/The Washington Post)

More than 250 new words have been added to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, from old terms now imbued with political meaning — like “dog whistle” — to newer portmanteaus like “froyo.”

It’s the second batch of words to be added this year to the online dictionary, which frequently expands as the English language evolves. Unlike the 1,000 words added in February, this group is smaller — and it includes more than a few new entries related to politics.

The primary definition for “dog whistle” remains a way to call a dog, but the term now has a secondary entry meaning “an expression or statement that has a secondary meaning intended to be understood only by a particular group of people,” according to the dictionary.

An entirely new entry was created for “alt-right,” which Merriam-Webster defines as “a right-wing, primarily online political movement or grouping based in the U.S. whose members reject mainstream conservative politics and espouse extremist beliefs and policies typically centered on ideas of white nationalism.”

The number of new entries related to politics wasn’t significantly greater than in past expansions, said Emily Brewster, an associate editor for the dictionary.

“I think that the public discourse these days is so politically focused that maybe they just stick out to us all the more,” she said.

It shouldn’t be a surprise that most of the new words have actually been lingering in the public consciousness for a while, Brewster added.

“We are not the first place that you’re going to hear of a word,” she said. “As always, the dictionary is always the lag indicator.”

Rather, a team of editors is constantly monitoring potential new entries in a spreadsheet. When a new word — or a burgeoning new definition of an existing word — seems like it has finally settled into the public discourse, Merriam-Webster editors make the case for it to be formally defined and added to the dictionary.

For instance, Brewster said she has been paying special attention to the word “troll” ever since she handled “a big revision of the term” in 2014. That year, Merriam-Webster added a secondary definition to reflect the word’s increasing reference to an antagonizing person on the Internet (especially one who keeps “posting inflammatory, irrelevant, or offensive comments or other disruptive content”)

 

 

Definition of froyo

chiefly US, informal

:frozen yogurt

• Speaking of free, head out to Yogurtland today from 4 to 7 p.m. for a free cup of froyo. The giveaway is in celebration of International Frozen Yogurt Day.
• —Stefani Dias

• Even if you don't want to eat dinner, you can just head to a dining hall, fill up a bowl of froyo, sit down and gaze in awe at all of the different types of students you can find in dining halls.
• —Esme Brachmann

—often used before another noun

• a froyo shop

• froyo flavors

Definition of dog whistle

1 :a whistle to call or direct a dog; especially :one sounding at a frequency inaudible to the human ear

2 politics :an expression or statement that has a secondary meaning intended to be understood only by a particular group of people

• Democrats and liberals sometimes have gone to ridiculous lengths to portray speech by Republicans and conservatives as dog whistles responsible for inciting unstable people to carry out violent acts …
• —The Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch

• … habitually inserts dog-whistles into his speeches to motivate evangelical voters.
• —The Economist

—often used before another noun

• That is the fundamental perversity of 'dog whistle politics', whereby political parties send coded messages that will be heard one way by their core supporters and another way altogether by others.
• —Robert E. Goodin

Definition of alt-right

:a right-wing, primarily online political movement or grouping based in the U.S. whose members reject mainstream conservative politics and espouse extremist beliefs and policies typically centered on ideas of white nationalism

• Welcome to the alt-right. The label blends together straight-up white supremacists, nationalists who think conservatives have sold out to globalization, and nativists who fear immigration will spur civil disarray.
• —Dylan Matthews

• Rather than concede the moral high ground to the left, the alt right turns the left's moralism on its head and makes it a badge of honor to be called "racist," "homophobic," and "sexist."
• —Benjamin Welton

• Regardless of who triumphs at the ballot box, the biggest winner of this presidential election may be the alt-right: a sprawling coalition of reactionary conservatives who have lobbied to make the United States more "traditional," more "populist" and more white.
• —Jonathon Morgan

—often used before another noun

• an alt-right manifesto

• Secularism is indeed correlated with greater tolerance of gay marriage and pot legalization. But it's also making America's partisan clashes more brutal. And it has contributed to the rise of … the so-called alt-right movement, whose members see themselves as proponents of white nationalism.
• —Peter Beinart

[Uchilka]

Спасибо, очень любопытно.

 

 

‘Alt-right,’ ‘troll’ and ‘dog whistle’ among new entries added to Merriam-Webster dictionary

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2017/09/18/alt-right

 

 

Definition of froyo

chiefly US, informal

:frozen yogurt

• Speaking of free, head out to Yogurtland today from 4 to 7 p.m. for a free cup of froyo. The giveaway is in celebration of International Frozen Yogurt Day.
• —Stefani Dias

• Even if you don't want to eat dinner, you can just head to a dining hall, fill up a bowl of froyo, sit down and gaze in awe at all of the different types of students you can find in dining halls.
• —Esme Brachmann

—often used before another noun

• a froyo shop

• froyo flavors

Definition of dog whistle

1 :a whistle to call or direct a dog; especially :one sounding at a frequency inaudible to the human ear

2 politics :an expression or statement that has a secondary meaning intended to be understood only by a particular group of people

• Democrats and liberals sometimes have gone to ridiculous lengths to portray speech by Republicans and conservatives as dog whistles responsible for inciting unstable people to carry out violent acts …
• —The Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch

• … habitually inserts dog-whistles into his speeches to motivate evangelical voters.
• —The Economist

—often used before another noun

• That is the fundamental perversity of 'dog whistle politics', whereby political parties send coded messages that will be heard one way by their core supporters and another way altogether by others.
• —Robert E. Goodin

Definition of alt-right

:a right-wing, primarily online political movement or grouping based in the U.S. whose members reject mainstream conservative politics and espouse extremist beliefs and policies typically centered on ideas of white nationalism

• Welcome to the alt-right. The label blends together straight-up white supremacists, nationalists who think conservatives have sold out to globalization, and nativists who fear immigration will spur civil disarray.
• —Dylan Matthews

• Rather than concede the moral high ground to the left, the alt right turns the left's moralism on its head and makes it a badge of honor to be called "racist," "homophobic," and "sexist."
• —Benjamin Welton

• Regardless of who triumphs at the ballot box, the biggest winner of this presidential election may be the alt-right: a sprawling coalition of reactionary conservatives who have lobbied to make the United States more "traditional," more "populist" and more white.
• —Jonathon Morgan

—often used before another noun

• an alt-right manifesto

• Secularism is indeed correlated with greater tolerance of gay marriage and pot legalization. But it's also making America's partisan clashes more brutal. And it has contributed to the rise of … the so-called alt-right movement, whose members see themselves as proponents of white nationalism.
• —Peter Beinart

 

Спасибо, очень любопытно.