# How does a NEW word make it into the Dictionary? possible formations. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 22, 2003, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-a-new-word-make-it-into-the-dictionary-possible-formations/150223 "2003-01-22T15:56:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-a-new-word-make-it-into-the-dictionary-possible-formations/150223/1 "2003-01-22T15:56:24Z")
The main reason I ask is because I have been experiencing a certain emotion throughout my life that I realize has no word to correspond with it. Generic Situation 1: Person A is describing something to you that you have recent prior knowledge of. He/she is describing said scenario and you are just dying to interrupt and finish their thought because you know exactly what they are going to say. Person A is the type of person that would get offended is you finish their thought or interrupt them. I am looking for a word that I could blurt out so they would know I already have prior knowledge of what they are going to say and them finishing their statement is basically mute. Generic Situation 2: Person A is describing to you something they just saw on the news. You just watched the broadcast and know exactly what they are about to say. Is there a word for this scenario? If not, what word could be invented that encompasses not being rude, while at the same time saying you know what they are going to say with out offending them, simply so the conversation can change direction or they can move on to talk about something completely different. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-a-new-word-make-it-into-the-dictionary-possible-formations/150223/2 "2003-01-22T16:13:07Z")
No need to coin a word when a phrase will do, right? “I’m sorry to interrupt … I just saw (heard, went through, etc.) the same thing.” As for ettiquette and not being rude … \. No given word connotes propriety by its own definition. Rather, propriety – raw custom – demands the use of certain words in certain situations." ---
**Author:** ![KidCharlemagne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@KidCharlemagne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KidCharlemagne)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-a-new-word-make-it-into-the-dictionary-possible-formations/150223/3 "2003-01-22T16:33:03Z")
Are you asking how a new word makes it into the dictionary or what would be a good term to describe polite indication that you know what another is going to say? ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-a-new-word-make-it-into-the-dictionary-possible-formations/150223/4 "2003-01-22T16:40:35Z")
Both. I need a word for a situation I have encountered. And I’d like to know how new words make it into the dictionary. ---
**Author:** ![Popup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/94ad74/32.png) [@Popup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Popup)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-a-new-word-make-it-into-the-dictionary-possible-formations/150223/5 "2003-01-22T16:50:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Phlosphr \* > \*\*Both. I need a word for a situation I have encountered. And I’d like to know how new words make it into the dictionary. \*\* I can help you with the later part. Or rather point you to a nice explanation of how words get respectability: [HOW WORDS ENTER THE LANGUAGE](http://www.worldwidewords.org/articles/howdowords.htm), by Michael Quinion. > [@](#): > > In the world of today’s lexicography, usage is king. We are, in the language of the business, descriptive dictionary makers: we record, we collate, we analyse, and we describe what people actually say and write. If enough English speakers decide that some word or phrase has value, to the extent that those who encounter it are likely to need to consult the dictionary in search of its meaning, then it is put into new editions. So if you decide to call your Generic Situation 1 above _snoopfnard_, and get enough people to call it a snoopfnard, in the end dictionaries will have an entry for snoopfnard. (I thik it would be an uphill struggle though. Is there really a need for such a specific word as snoopfnard?) ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-a-new-word-make-it-into-the-dictionary-possible-formations/150223/6 "2003-01-22T17:10:05Z")
_Nuff sed_ (“enough said”) is in the dictionary. > [@](#): > > them finishing their statement is basically mute. _Moot_ is also in the dictionary. ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-a-new-word-make-it-into-the-dictionary-possible-formations/150223/7 "2003-01-22T17:19:52Z")
Hmmm… _ **Moot** _ I like that. I should have asked a bibliophile such as yourself, first. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-a-new-word-make-it-into-the-dictionary-possible-formations/150223/8 "2003-01-22T17:32:10Z")
No, no, a bibliophile loves books. A bibliophage just eats them. ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-a-new-word-make-it-into-the-dictionary-possible-formations/150223/9 "2003-01-22T17:52:51Z")
Yes but doesn’t one have to love books before they can consume them? i.e. I love chicken, thats why I eat it. ---
**Author:** ![Coilean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f6c823/32.png) [@Coilean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coilean)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-a-new-word-make-it-into-the-dictionary-possible-formations/150223/10 "2003-01-22T17:59:29Z")
\*\*Phlosphr[/], You might try reading _The Meaning of Liff_ by Douglas Adams. It’s a comic take on the lack of words available tp expreess everyday situations. ---
**Author:** ![Alphagene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Alphagene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alphagene)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-a-new-word-make-it-into-the-dictionary-possible-formations/150223/11 "2003-01-22T18:02:29Z")
Not necessarily… [Maude Lebowski]It can be a natural, _zesty_ enterprise. However, there are some people, it is called bibliomania in men, who engage in it compusively and without joy. These unfortunate souls can not love books, in the true sense of the word. Our mututal acquaintance, bibliophage, is one of these…[/Maude Lebowski] ---
**Author:** ![KidCharlemagne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@KidCharlemagne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KidCharlemagne)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-a-new-word-make-it-into-the-dictionary-possible-formations/150223/12 "2003-01-22T18:22:24Z")
To add to **Popup** ’s answer: Lexicographers count how often a new term is used in popular publications. There are people who spend all day reading newspapers, magazines, etc. keeping track of how often and in what context new words are being used. ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-a-new-word-make-it-into-the-dictionary-possible-formations/150223/13 "2003-01-22T18:36:23Z")
Well **Alpha-Gene** I thought Maude Lebowski said: It’s satyriasis in men and nymphomania in women … Those who engage in it compusively and without joy … These unfortunate souls can not love … in the true sense of the word. I love that movie. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-a-new-word-make-it-into-the-dictionary-possible-formations/150223/14 "2003-01-22T21:12:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by KidCharlemagne \* > Lexicographers count how often a new term is used in popular publications. There are people who spend all day reading newspapers, magazines, etc. keeping track of how often and in what context new words are being used. This is a somewhat misleading statement. There are people who read newspapers and magazines for lexicographers, but they don’t do it all day. Or they don’t get paid to do it, so they usually have some other job. And you make it sound like they are keeping a scorecard on these new words when all they are doing is looking for cites. As an example of this, the OED is currently looking for cites for science fiction words. If you want to contribute to this project, you can do so via email. See [http://www.jessesword.com/SF/sf\_citations.shtml](http://www.jessesword.com/SF/sf_citations.shtml) for details. As I said, there’s no pay, but you do get the egoboo of seeing your name on the big list at that web site.