More than 3,500 new entries have been added to the new Macquarie Dictionary Eighth Edition. The words reflect changes in our usage of Australian English since the Seventh Edition was published in 2017. Below is a selection of these new words.
Our inclusion of environmental words reflects the strong presence in the public consciousness of environmental and sustainability issues in recent years. Two new words included in the Eighth Edition include climate strike and eco-anxiety.
climate strike
noun a protest against lack of action on climate change, held within school or work hours.
eco-anxiety
noun feelings of distress and fear brought on by the effects of climate change.
Indigenous words have also gained prominence in recent times. Macquarie Dictionary recently published new ebook guides to several indigenous languages. Scar tree and ngangkari are examples of some of the new words related to Indigenous language and culture that are included in the Eighth Edition.
ngangkari
(say ‘ngung-guh-ree)
noun an Indigenous practitioner of bush medicine; healer. [Pitjantjatjara: literally, traditional healer]
scar tree
noun a tree of southern and eastern Australia which has had sections of bark or wood removed as part of traditional Aboriginal activities, often for the construction of shelter, watercraft, containers, etc.
To round off our preview of the Eighth Edition, let’s look at a couple of Macquarie Word of the Year winners. Described by the committee as a term that captured the zeitgeist of the year, cancel culture was crowned 2019 Word of the Year.
cancel culture
noun the attitudes within a community which call for or bring about the withdrawal of support from a public figure, such as cancellation of an acting role, a ban on playing an artist’s music, removal from social media, etc., usually in response to an accusation of a socially unacceptable action or comment.
Also, call-out culture, outrage culture.
2018 Word of the Year, Me Too still resonates around Australia:
Me Too
adjective 1. of or relating to the Me Too movement: Me Too posts on social media.
2. of or relating to an accusation of sexual harassment or sexual assault, especially as having occurred at some time in the past and which has since remained undisclosed.
–verb (t) 3. to accuse (someone) of having committed sexual harassment or sexual assault, especially in the past: to be Me Tooed.
Also, me too, Me-Too, me-too.
Lastly, something a little lighter. We think the Macquarie Dictionary Eighth Edition has plenty of BDE:
noun Colloquial a sense of self-confidence, unaccompanied by arrogance or conceit. Also, big dick energy. [from the supposed self-assuredness possessed by a man with a large penis]
These examples represent a tiny portion of the new words included in the Eighth Edition. With a beautiful cover design and an updated understanding of Australian English, we know the Macquarie Dictionary Eighth Edition will sit proudly alongside its predecessors.
