He also likes the word teen-ager, which came into use in the 1930s. At Merriam, new words earn a place in the dictionary simply by repeated use in the popular press. Merriam's lexicographers spend a large part of their day reading newspapers, magazines and now Internet publications. They look through everything from Sports Illustrated to The Wall Street Journal to Wired for words that might merit a citation. A new word must amass enough citations to indicate its acceptance by the American people before it goes into the dictionary.
Humans never stay in traditional grooves.
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