Feeling cheffy?
Merriam-Webster adds words to its dictionary, inlcuding many that highlight cuisine options from around the world
It's time to zhuzh your vocabulary. Merriam-Webster recently announced 690 words and definitions that were added to its dictionary this fall. The words range from colloquial phrases like doggo and “beast mode” to important news words to know, like “forever chemical” and UAP, which stands for unidentified aerial phenomenon (or objects formerly known as UFOs).
Ngl (not gonna lie), it's always eye opening to realize how many new or repurposed words — from quiet quit to cold open — are now totally normal.
But food words are often the most fun, and the ones added this year reflect the ever-evolving culture of food and restaurants in the United States.
We're glad to see “cheffy” make the list. It's defined as “characteristic of or befitting a professional chef.” We'll give a “chef's kiss” to that. “Smashburger” is official now, too, and really needs no definition. Another word that often shows up in our news stories is “stage” (pronounced stahzh), an unpaid internship in a professional kitchen that's part of a chef's training — and a stagiare (stahzyer) can be a relative newbie or a pro looking to pick up new techniques.
Many other food words added to the dictionary this year include dishes from Mexican, Italian, Indonesian, West African and South American cuisines, like “torta,” “guanciale” (a cured Italian meat product typically made with pork jowls and spices), “emping” (a slightly bitter cracker or chip popular in Indonesia
that is made from the dried flattened seed of a melinjo tree), “jollof rice” (a West African rice dish with tomatoes, onions, garlic,
hot pepper and spices) and “chicha” (South American and Central American beer made chiefly from fermented corn).
Find more new words and their definitions at merriam-webster.com/wordplay/new-words-in-the-dictionary.