Cambridge dictionary changes definition of man and woman
KTTH (Seattle) talk radio host Jason Rantz discusses the dictionary changing the definition of man and woman on ‘Fox News @ Night.’
The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) added 18 new words related to gender identity and the LGBTQ community in 2022, including the terms gender-affirming, brotherboy and pangender, according to a new report.
Over the course of the year, the OED was incrementally updated with over 2,050 words in March, June and September. It is expected to receive several hundred more words by year-end.
In March, the OED added anti-gay to their myriad of words, accompanied by a definition that reads "opposed or hostile to homosexual people (sometimes specifically gay men) or homosexuality." Anti-homosexual was also added as a subcategory of the word, The Daily Caller found.
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The OED also added words less well known to the public - such as pangender, a term used to define a person who either identifies as an unset number of separate identities, moving fluidly between them over time, or identifies as a singular all-encompassing identity.
Eunoia, which means "beautiful thinking" according to Guinness World Records, is the shortest word in the English language that has all five main vowels. (iStock) (iStock)
Another newly-included word, multisexual, often refers to a person that is attracted to several different individuals with varying gender identities or sexes.
The word gender also saw several notes added to the definition with new sub-definitions that include gender critical, and gender-affirming. Gender expression and gender presentation were also included under the same definition.
The word teahouse, colloquially used in U.S. slang, was also included. The word refers to a public restroom in which gay men engage or solicit sexual acts from other men.
Several words were also added that are specific to countries across the world and are not commonly known in the English language. For example, the word Bakla is a term in the Philippines that describes a biological male who identifies as female. Muxe, a word from Mexico which has the same definition, was also added.
Australian words brotherboy and sistergirl were also added, the former of which refers to a person registered as female at birth that identities with masculine gender expression, and a born male that exhibits traits associated with being feminine in the latter’s case.
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Several notable dictionaries have made interesting editorial decisions throughout 2022 regarding their inclusion of new words.
Earlier this month, the OED announced that their official word of 2022 is "goblin mode," a term that refers to a "type of behavior which is unapologetically self-indulgent, lazy, slovenly, or greedy, typically in a way that rejects social norms or expectations."
Merriam-Webster’s dictionary selected "gaslighting" as their official word of the year.
On December 13, Dictionary.com deemed the word "woman" to be the word of the year for 2022, calling it a "prime example of the many gender terms undergoing shifts."
The site suggested that, "more than ever, we are all faced with questions about who gets to identify as a woman." The word-defining website also indicated unease at being the final arbiter: "The dictionary is not the last word on what defines a woman."
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Fox News’ Scott Whitlock and Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.
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