[Archive 2009-07-11] New words added to Webster's dictionary

Historical archive — originally published 2009-07-11. This report records what was known on that date. It is not current news; subsequent events may have changed the situation. Wikinews closed in May 2026.

Merriam–Webster announced that it has added over a hundred new words to the pages of its Collegiate Dictionary. Notable among these additions include: webisode, a television episode viewed from the web; staycation, a vacation that occurs near one's home; and vlog, a form of blog that features videos.

Two recurring themes among the new words included "government activities" and words of Arabic origin. The term "waterboarding" reflected the former theme, and was defined as "an interrogation technique in which water is forced into a detainee's mouth and nose so as to induce the sensation of drowning".

The practice has been used on detainees at the Guantanamo Bay Detention Center, and its usage has drawn criticism from legal experts and human rights advocates who consider it to be a form of torture. Webster's does not include the word "torture" as part of its definition.

The latter theme was represented by such terms as shawarma, a Middle-Eastern sandwich, and Haram, which means forbidden under Islamic law.

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Text adapted from New words added to Webster's dictionary by Wikinews contributors under CC BY 2.5. Paragraphs have been selected and abridged, and formatting adjusted. Contributor history.