Meet The Latest Entrant Into Oxford English Dictionary: Chana Dal

Indian food essentials - chana and chana dal - are among the many new entries in the ‘Oxford English Dictionary’ (OED) unveiled on Tuesday. (Photo: The Quint)

Indian food essentials - chana and chana dal - are among the many new entries in the 'Oxford English Dictionary' (OED) unveiled on Tuesday.

Chickpeas (chana) and the split chickpea lentils (chana dal) join the vast list of more than 600 other words and phrases that the authoritative Oxford English Dictionary has deemed popular enough to be included in its quarterly update.

The clutch of words debuting in the world's definitive guide to the evolving English language covers everything from lifestyle, current affairs to education.

The other prominent new entries include a batch of tennis-related words like “forced error” and the slang “bagel” - which refers to a score of six games to love in a set (the shape of a bagel is similar to the numeral zero).

Robert McNicol, librarian at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (AELTC), who was invited to offer his expertise on the tennis-themed words for their inclusion in the dictionary, said the words were part of the tennis tradition.

“Tennis is renowned for its many long-held traditions, and part of that is the unique language used to describe particular playing shots and racket techniques,” said McNicol.

In 2016, Oxford Dictionaries had announced ‘post-truth’ as its “Word of the Year”.

Since then, the huge increase in the usage of the word has given the lexicographers enough evidence to add it to the latest edition of ‘OED’.

A new sense of woke, which was shortlisted for 'Word of the Year', has also been added, meaning "alert to racial or social discrimination and injustice".

Its use by supporters of the Black Lives Matter movement, and in particular the phrase "stay woke", is thought to have introduced the word to a broader audience, especially on social media.

"Often displaying a playful side to the English language, colloquialisms and slang words have always had their place in the ‘OED’," the OED noted.

Other remarkable entries in the latest update are: footless (as in, footless drunk, an alternative to the more familiar 'legless'), swimmer (sperm), and son of a bachelor (a euphemistic alternative to ‘son of a bitch').

As far as scientific words are concerned, ‘Zyzzyva’ – a set of tropical weevils native to South America and typically found on or near palm trees – has become the latest entrant to the dictionary.

(This article has been edited for length)