Cool news.
🎉🌟 We added 850 new words to the dictionary! 🎉🌟https://t.co/eyYWKHKzk7— Merriam-Webster (@MerriamWebster) March 5, 2018
Interestingly for cryptocurrency enthusiasts, out of all 850 new words and phrases such as "dumpster fire," “glamping,” “welp,” and "life hack," the Bitcoin logo took center stage on both Merriam-Webster’s main tweet and its website announcement about the new dictionary entries. The website also features this statement just above the words "'Cryptocurrency' is now in the dictionary" and the Bitcoin logo:
The language doesn't take a vacation, and neither does the dictionary. The words we use are constantly changing in big ways and small, and we're here to record those changes. Each word has taken its own path in its own time to become part of our language — to be used frequently enough by some in order to be placed in a reference for all. If you're likely to encounter a word in the wild, whether in the news, a restaurant menu, a tech update or a Twitter meme, that word belongs in the dictionary.
Emily Brewster, associate editor at Merriam-Webster, stated, “In order for a word to be added to the dictionary it must have widespread, sustained and meaningful use. These new words have been added to the dictionary because they have become established members of the English language and are terms people are likely to encounter.” The addition to the Merriam-Webster dictionary of the words cryptocurrency, blockchain and ICO seem to fit those criteria well.
cryptocurrency noun cryp·to·cur·ren·cy \ ˌkrip-tō-ˈkər-ən(t)-sē , -ˈkə-rən(t)-sē \ : any form of currency that only exists digitally, that usually has no central issuing or regulating authority but instead uses a decentralized system to record transactions and manage the issuance of new units, and that relies on cryptography to prevent counterfeiting and fraudulent transactions. First Known Use: 1990
blockchain noun block·chain \ ˈbläk-ˌchān \ : a digital database containing information (such as records of financial transactions) that can be simultaneously used and shared within a large decentralized, publicly accessible network; also : the technology used to create such a database. First Known Use: 2011
ICO noun \ ˈī-ˈsē-ˈō \ : an initial offering of a cryptocurrency to the public : initial coin offering. First Known Use: 2014
Bitcoin was added to the dictionary in April of 2016.
The dictionary's editors added two other words that describe how money is organized and distributed: "microcredit" and "microfinance." Other new entries include previously existing words with additional new meanings, such as the venture capital term "unicorn" (noun used figuratively to mean
