Weevil has last word in new English dictionary

IT IS literally the last word in the English language. The Oxford English Dictionary announced yesterday that it has introduced a new “last word” with tropical weevil zyzzyva being included in the latest edition of the renowned publication.

Zyzzyva, which is a genus native to South America, takes the title from zythum, an ancient Egyptian malt beer.

It is among a variety of new words to be added to the dictionary, which also include hygge, a Danish term described as “a quality of cosiness and comfortable conviviality that engenders a feeling of contentment or wellbeing”.

While other words have been given new definitions, including “woke” which is used as an adjective to mean “alert to racial or social discrimination and injustice”, and “thing” when used to express disbelief, as in “How can that be a thing?”

Also among the tranche of new words are 50 terms relating to tennis, such as forced error, chip and charge and career slam.

Tennis mom and tennis dad – which are terms to describe parents who encourage their children to play the sport – have also been added to the book, which contains 829,000 words.

Speaking about how a word qualifies for inclusion, a spokesman for the Oxford English Dictionary said: “(We) require several independent examples of the word being used, and also evidence that the word has been in use for a reasonable amount of time.”