I decided just for fun to look at what new words or meanings of old words have been created in the last year, and categorize them into
"Happy words" - those which make me feel good.
"Words for worry" - those words which can be associated to general concerns about something - lack of toned body, lack of celebrity status, threats of violence etc.
"Words to fear" - new words which really just give me the creeps.
Anyway, this is what I found online for 2006 Oxford English Dictionary UK .
Happy Words: None.
Words for Worry: 12
abdominoplasty
aerobicised
crunk
celebutante
hoody
mesotherapy
obesogenic
plank
radge
twonk
Yogalates
zombie
Words to Fear: 4
agroterrorism
blowback
rendition
wedge issue
In other words Worry and Fear are hip for 2006, whilst Happiness has gone on vacation.
hmmmmm :-(
If anyone knows of an authorative study on this, I'd like to know what types of new words have been added to the language over the last decade and how this compares historically.
