‘Sexting’ is now part of our language

Sexting, retweeting and even the painfully revealing mankini swimsuit made famous by the movie character Borat all feature in a new edition of Britain’s most venerated dictionary, launched today.

Gastric band and cyberbullying – use of electronic communication to bully a person – are among the other 400 new entries in the centenary edition of the Concise Oxford English Dictionary.

Sexting is defined as “the sending of sexually explicit photographs or messages via mobile phone,” while to retweet is to “repost or forward a message on Twitter.”

The mankini is a “men’s one-piece bathing garment with a T-back” – but fans of Borat: Cultural learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan will be all too familiar with the skimpy, green, bathing attire donned by British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen.

“These additions are just carrying on the tradition of a dictionary that has always sought to be progressive and up to date,” Angus Stevenson, editor of the new 12th edition, wrote on his blog.

by Robbo Green

Newsletter

Join our mailing list to receive the latest news directly in your email inbox.