YouTuber, glam-ma make it into OED with Brexit

The world may still be divided over Brexit in terms of its implementation and consequences, but the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) has given it an official nod with 1,500 other new words.

OED editors steered clear of political controversy by defining the process of Brexit rather than its consequences or implementation, as they added the word to the dictionary this week, the Guardian reported.

The definition reads: "The (proposed) withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union, and the political process associated with it. Sometimes used specifically with reference to the referendum held in the UK on 23 June 2016, in which a majority of voters favoured withdrawal from the EU."

Fiona McPherson, senior editor on the OED, told the Guardian that the word has been "one of the fastest" to move from coinage to definition and listing.

The influence of social media is clearly visible in many of the new coinages this time. "YouTuber", defined as "frequent user of the video-sharing website YouTube, especially someone who produces and appears in videos on the site" has found a place in the OED for the first time.

Those who stand up to internet trolls can now call themselves an "upstander", defined as "a person who speaks or acts in support of a cause, especially one who intervenes on behalf a person being attacked or bullied".

Though many additions to the 829,000 words in the dictionary arise from young people and social media, some also reflect the ageing population. Leading the way for Baby Boomers is "glam-ma: a glamorous grandmother, especially one who is comparatively young or fashion-conscious."

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