Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift fans are delighted with the news: the word “swiftie” has officially been added to Dictionary.com, after meeting a specific set of criteria.
When it seemed that the impact of Taylor Swift could no longer become even more widespread, the strength of its fan base left an irreversible mark on the English language.
In the Dictionary.com entry, in the American English section, “” is defined as “a fan of Taylor Swift music“. Apparently, according to the dictionary, the noun is also a slang expression in British English with the meaning of “trick, trick or deception”.
While there are probably some English language scholars frowning at this inclusion, Dictionary.com follows strict criteria to decide when a word can be added to the site, explains .
The company has a dedicated group of lexicographers — people who edit dictionaries professionally — who determines the eligibility of a word based on four criteria.
To be included in the dictionary, the word must be used by many peoplethese people have to use it, in general, with the same meaningit must be probable that last no timeoh it has to be useful to a wide audience.
In fact, Swiftie was only added because was already, in fact, a word — and not the other way around. And, if there are still those who need to calm down in the face of this inclusion, it is worth remembering that Taylor Swift’s fan nickname, which she registered in 2017, is not the first term of fandom to enter Dictionary.com.
In fact, Swiftie joins designations like “Beyhive”, for Beyoncé fans, “Trekkies”, for those passionate about the Star Trek universe, and, surprising as it may seem, “Janeite” — for those for whom nothing beats the charm of a romance novel. Jane Austen.
Well, here, at ZAP, we are all jumping waiting for Portuguese dictionaries to add the word we use to translate “enshitification” — the process by which digital platforms deliberately degrade themselves and worsen the service.
After all, it has already started to be used by many people, always with the same meaning, affects a wide audience…and we have no doubt that it will last for a long time. In fact, even on dictionary.com…
