Nonbinary pronouns ‘they,’ ‘themself ’ now singularly defined

Jorge L. Ortiz

The next time someone expresses a preference for a plural pronoun, the dictionary will be there to provide support.

As the notion of gender fluidity becomes more prevalent, nonbinary pronouns have emerged as an option for those who don’t want to be identified strictly as male or female.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary recognizes that usage by incorporating “they” and “themself” in references to “a single person whose gender identity is nonbinary.”

Those are among 533 new words and meanings in the dictionary’s latest update, released Tuesday, including terms such as “dad joke” and “vacay.”

Singer Sam Smith is among those

who have said publicly that they identify themselves as nonbinary and have opted for the pronouns “they” and “them.”

For those who may find that jarring, Merriam-Webster senior editor Emily Brewster pointed out that the word “they” has been used commonly for centuries in the singular form as an indefinite pronoun. For example: “If someone doesn’t like it, they can leave.”

“In more recent years, we have this nonbinary ‘they,’ which is now appearing in carefully edited text,” Brewster told USA TODAY. “It’s appearing in The New York Times. It is being chosen by people and mentioned in articles with some frequency. It’s simply not a usage that can be ignored anymore.”

Nonbinary terms make up a small portion of the interesting additions to the dictionary. The folks at MerriamWebster highlighted entries in several other areas, including:

Sports and games

Pickleball: A newly popular court sport played with short-handled paddles and a perforated plastic ball.

Escape room: A game in which participants confined to a room or an enclosed setting are given a set amount of time to find a way to escape.

In April, the dictionary added the popular term “garbage time,” referring to “the final moments or minutes of a game in which one side has an insurmountable lead.”

Pop culture

Stinger: A short scene that appears during or after the closing credits of a movie. Coulrophobia: An abnormal fear of

clowns.

Politics and law

Deep state: An alleged secret governmental network operating extralegally.

Red flag law: A law that allows courts to prevent people who show signs of being a danger to themselves or others from having access to firearms. Abbreviated terms such as “vacay” for vacation, “sesh” for session and “inspo” for inspiration also found their way into this latest edition of the M-W dictionary.

“We are always (striving) to reflect the established language,” Brewster said. “There’s always been the criticism that we are too permissive, but it was scandalous in 1961 that we entered the word ‘finalize,’ and no one really blinks much of an eye at that anymore.”