‘Tweet’ to be recognized as a word in Oxford English Dictionary

TORONTO – I tweet; she tweeted; he is tweeting.

The term ‘tweet’ as it’s used in the social networking context – made popular by social media site Twitter – is being recognized as a noun and verb by the Oxford English Dictionary.

The addition breaks tradition with the 150-year-old publication.

The OED has a rule that states new words must be relevantly used for 10 years before being considered for the dictionary – but Twitter and the act of ‘tweeting’ has only been around since 2006.

In a “quiet announcement” chief editor of the OED John Simpson wrote, “The noun and verb tweet (in the social-networking sense) has just been added to the OED.”

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“It seems to be catching on,” said Simpson of the decision to break the OED rule.

The definitions, which were added as part of the June 2013 OED update, read, “a. intr. To make a posting on the social networking service Twitter. Also: to use Twitter regularly or habitually,” and “b. trans. To post (a message, item of information, etc.) on Twitter. Also: to post a message to (a particular person, organization, etc.).”

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Previously the definition for tweet only included two entries – the way in which a bird communicates and the “brief high-pitched sound or call” a bird makes.

Other tech terms added in to the OED include ‘e-reader,’ ‘mouseover,’ ‘redirect’ and ‘crowdsourcing.’

What other tech or social media terms do you think should be added to the dictionary?