Eating a tasty meal with chana dal or doenjang washed down with a gin daisy could well foster a nice feeling of hygge. Just hope you don’t find any zyzzyva on your plate.If you need to look up any of those words, AFP reports that the unofficial custodian of the English language now has the answers. In its latest update, the Oxford English Dictionary identified more than 600 words, phrases and senses that have entered common parlance.They include "zyzzyva", a genus of tropical weevils native to South America. The word replaces zythum, an ancient Egyptian malt beer, as the dictionary’s final entry. The name was apparently coined by US entomologist Thomas Lincoln Casey, who described it in a 1922 work.The quarterly update includes "post-truth", previously announced by the Oxford English Dictionary as its word of the year for 2016 following Britain’s Brexit referendum and Donald Trump’s US presidential victory. "Brexit" also made it into the dictionary in 2016, meeting the criterion tha...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.