LONDON – OMG! The exclamatory online abbreviation has won the approval of the Oxford English Dictionary.
The term – short for "Oh my God" – is one of dozens of new entries in the authoritative reference book’s latest online update.
Other Internet-inspired expressions given the stamp of approval include LOL, "laughing out loud"; IMHO, "in my humble opinion"; and BFF, "best friends forever."
The dictionary says that although the terms are associated with modern electronic communications, some are surprisingly old. The first confirmed use of "OMG" was in 1917.
The new update, released Thursday, includes "flat white" – a type of milky coffee – and "muffin top," defined as "a protuberance of flesh above the waistband of a tight pair of trousers."
Here’s a look at some of the new entries:
Dot bomb: An Internet company which has become bankrupt or ceased to operate; a failed or unsuccessful dotcom.
Ego-surfing: The practice of searching on the Internet for mentions of one’s own name or the name of one’s business, website, etc.
Fabless: Describes a technology company which does not do its own manufacturing.
La-la land: Can refer to a state of being out of touch with reality, or to the city of Los Angeles.
Lossless: Of data compression – without loss of information, allowing compressed data to be recovered perfectly by decompression; relating to or involving such compression.
Wassup: What’s up?
OMG: Oh my God
LOL: Laugh out loud
Singledom: State or condition of being unmarried or single
Tinfoil hat: Used especially with allusion to the belief that such a hat protects the wearer from mind control or surveillance.
WAG: Wives and girlfriends
Yuck factor: A feeling of horror, revulsion, or disgust generated by an idea, action or situation.
With files from Associated Press
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