'Selfie,' 'hashtag,' and 'fracking' among the latest words added to dictionary

Tim Boyle/Getty Images

'Selfie,' 'hashtag,' and 'fracking' among the latest words added to dictionary
(Image credit: Tim Boyle/Getty Images)

With new entries like "hashtag," "selfie," "unfriend," and "tweep," it may seem like the update of the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary's 11th edition was spearheaded by a middle schooler. In fact, it takes a dedicated team of observers to find frequently used words out in the world and some senior editors to decide what makes the cut.

On Monday, Merriam-Webster announced the addition of 150 new words to its flagship dictionary, The Associated Press reports. At least one is rather obscure: "Yoopers," a nickname for native and longtime residents of the Michigan's Upper Peninsula, near Lake Superior. "People up here, we really do have our own identity and our own culture," Steve Parks, a Yooper who fought to get the word in the dictionary, told The Associated Press. "We're a really hardy bunch.... You have to be very resilient to live up here."

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.