A word from The Simpsons has been added to the dictionary

They used it in 1996!

The Simpsons
Author: Anna Sky MagliolaPublished 6th Mar 2018
Last updated 6th Mar 2018

As cartoons go The Simpsons is pretty iconic. They seem to have predicted a number of world events in past episodes, and now a totally made up word from the series has made it into the dictionary.

According to Merriam-Webster they have just added 850 new words to their dictionary and 'embiggen' is one of them. The word was first used in The Simpsons in 1996 and means 'to make bigger or more expansive'.

Watch a clip from The Simpsons where they use the word 'embiggen' (towards the end).

The American dictionary website confirmed the new addition by tweeting a gif of a clip from the Avengers Assemble cartoon television series, which is also known to use the word.

As well as 'embiggen' some of the new words to be added include 'subtweet', 'wordie' and 'Chiweenie'.

Every year more and more words are added to various dictionaries depending on their usage. Back in 2013 the word 'twerking' was added to Oxford Dictionaries Online, with them explaining it had been used in hip-hop culture for the past two decades, but has skyrocketed in usage over the past 12 month.

Katherine Connor Martin from Oxford Dictionaries told the BBC at the time, "The current public reaction to twerking is reminiscent in some ways of how the twisting craze was regarded in the early 1960s, when it was first popularised by Chubby Checker's song, The Twist."

Meanwhile last year the Word of the Year was revealed to be 'Youthquake', however no one seemed to know what it meant, despite it apparently being quite an old word - dating back to 1965. Speaking about the decision to choose 'youthquake' as the Word of the Year, the President of Oxford Dictionaries said, "We chose youthquake based on its evidence and linguistic interest."

He went on to say, "But most importantly for me, at a time when our language is reflecting our deepening unrest and exhausted nerves, it is a rare political word that sounds a hopeful note."

Now take a look at the original names for our favourite TV shows:

Friends

We all know and love it as Friends, but the TV show could have been called something very different...

A word from The Simpsons has been added to the dictionary
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