21st-Century Interdisciplinary Dictionary
A William&Mary Lexicon of English Neologisms, Buzzwords, Keywords and Jargon
Neo-sense Word : (n.) A dance craze that usually goes with hip-hop/pop music. Whip is sometimes used as a slang word for car, and the dance involves dropping one’s knee and making a car-driving gesture. Often accompanied by improvisation. Associated with the songs, “Watch Me” by Silento and and “Nasty Freestyle” by T-Wayne. Etymology: Middle […]
Neologism/Clipping of “sorority.” Used to describe a girl who has joined a social sorority and embodies the stereotypes associated with female greek life. Typically, a “srat” type girl parties only at Greek parties like mixers or date parties, wears certain brands (Vineyard Vines, Lilly Pulitzer, etc.), and spends most of her time with members of […]
Meme n. an idea, behavior, thought, or style that spreads from person to person within a culture, a unit for carrying ideas General Denotation: A meme is usually a picture, idea, or joke that is taken by a group and replicated/altered. It has become a term to name an inside joke or something funny, usually online. Memes […]
Hype v./adj. (neosense) 1. To be excited or enthusiastic. 2. Something that is fun or exciting. Etymology: The neosense of the term “hype” emerged in the 2010s, but the original word is an americanism from the early 20th century with no certain origins. The original use of the word meant “excessive or misleading publicity or advertising”. In […]
Narp: noun, acronym. General Denotation: NARP is an acronym of “non-athletic regular person,” used to describe someone who does not participate in sports. Etymology: While the exact origins of this word are unclear, it first appeared on urban dictionary in January of 2010, while my interviewees either had not heard of the word, or had […]
Groutfit n. (neologism, slang) An outfit made out of entirely gray clothing. Etymology: This is a blend of the words gray and outfit. The first Urban Dictionary entry for “groutfit” was posted on February 22, 2009 so the blend was probably created around this time. The Oxford English Dictionary does not have an entry for […]
Collab (n.) Definition: “Collab” is a clipping of the word collaboration. Collaboration typically means the action of working with someone to produce or create something. Nowadays a Collab still has the same sense of working with someone to produce something, however, collab now has the sense of only making video’s with someone. Some people may […]
Neosense Word: (n.) it is a genre of art that is three dimensional. It is a sub-genre of contemporary art. It is supposed the change the perception of space in a room. Allows the audience or viewer to interact with the space. According to Merriam-Webster, installation art can have components of mixed media. Etymology: Install […]
Inspo n. (Buzzword) Slang for something one finds to be inspirational. Etymology: Clipping of the word “Inspiration”. Inspire (Late Latin inspirare, to breathe upon) + ation (Latin ation, indicating action). It originated as a hashtag used on many social media sites like twitter, pinterest, instagram, and tumblr. Sociolectal Information: The term inspo is used frequently […]
Smol: adj. Slang word General Denotation: Smol is often used to refer to something that is not only extremely small, but also adorable. Pronunciation: smohl, rhymes with “coal.” Etymology: Smol is a misspelling of the word ‘small’ popularized over social media in mid-2015. While the first use of the word is unclear, it was largely popularized […]
