Anthropologist Michael Oman-Reagan has been tweeting screenshots of usage examples from the Oxford Dictionary of English that he feels perpetuate sexist biases.

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Oxford Dictionaries made history on Monday by announcing that the word which they believe best personifies the collective experience of English-speakers in 2015 was not a word at all. Instead, "Face With Tears of Joy" emoji has been selected as the word of the year. Behold it above, in all its terrifying glory.

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Hey, Oxford. Glad you could make it. But I'm sorry, I invited you here under false pretenses. This isn't a cat cafe, as I'm sure you've figured out. But I want to talk about those words you just added today.

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Since 2007, Oxford University Press has removed the names of at least 30 plants and animals from its Junior Dictionary in favor of modern words like "broadband" or "cut-and-paste"; and although these changes might reflect the inevitable evolution of the English language, Margaret Atwood is concerned that omitting the natural world from children's vocabularies will have dire consequences.

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Like it or lump it, the English language is constantly evolving to reflect the people that speak it--and unfortunately, those people needed a catch-all term for unsolicited male condescension. The Oxford Dictionary has released a list of new additions to their online edition, so congratulations, "mansplain," "douchebag," "fandom" and friends! You're officially in the big leagues now!

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The word just came down from Oxford Dictionaries -- the Word of the Year, that is! (See what we did there?) And if you like complaining about things, then you're in for a treat, because the word they've chosen is "selfie." Cue incessant whining about the downfall of modern society at the hands of our self-absorbed teenage population.

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In a recent interview with Wordability, Senior Editor at Oxford Dictionaries Fiona McPherson shed some light on words that are "on the radar" for possible future inclusion in the OED. While a serious discussion about the word "bacne" is kind of hilarious, every English teacher you've ever had just felt a great disturbance in the Force.

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Four times a year the Oxford English Dictionary Oxford Dictionaries Online chooses new words to be allowed into its hallowed (digital) pages. In the past, those words have included geekery, hentai, tweet, sexting, dad dancing, and doh (as in Homer Simpson). This time around we get… twerking. Man, it's almost exactly like they timed this to the ongoing controversy over Miley Cyrus. Some new words that are now totally legit to use in formal essays (because if we can't trust the dictionary, whom can we trust?) are behind the cut, as are their brand spankin' new definitions. Oh, and also a video of Morgan Freeman explaining twerking. Update: We were incorrect in saying that the words are being added to the Oxford English Dictionary. It's actually the Oxford Dictionaries Online, which "focuses on current English and includes modern meanings and uses of words." Apologies.

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The Oxford English Dictionary defines "twerk" as a verb meaning to "dance to popular music in a sexually provocative manner involving thrusting hip movements and a low, squatting stance." Geekosystem defines the inclusion of "twerk" in the OED as a stupid waste of time, but if you're going to do it, do it right. Let's fix that definition.

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The word "Geekery" has been added to the Oxford English Dictionary, along with the words "Tweet" (the digital kind), "e-reader", and "dad dancing".

Find out how these new entries break rules and redefine culture under the cut.

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Well how do ya like them apples? The Oxford English Dictionary has chosen "GIF" as the American word of the year. England's word of the year? Omnishambles: a situation that has been comprehensively mismanaged, characterized by a string of blunders and miscalculations. I think we win. GIF, or graphics interchange format, may not be one of our favorite words but it's certainly one of our favorite things to use when there's nothing else to say and definitely one of our favorite things to reblog on tumblr. Without further ado, we present some of our favorite GIFs from around the web. And let me tell you, it was tough narrowing them down. (via Jezebel)

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It's time to celebrate, Internet denizens. We don't need anyone to legitimize our hobbies, but it's nice when the more traditional establishments make note of our various and sundry online endeavors. Today is one of those times. Oxford Dictionaries has just named GIF their 2012 Word of the Year. Not the image format, which turned 25 this year, but the verb. As in, to GIF, and GIFing. I'm not even kidding.

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In its continued effort to stay relevant in the the ongoing journey of the English language, the Oxford English Dictionary has provided us with its annual "Addition of New Words That Will Make You Wonder If Language Itself Is Evolving or Becoming Increasingly Ridiculous." Usually, they are combinations of existing words that have permeated popular culture to such an extent that they need to be made "official" (for some reason), whether they deserve it or not.

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The Oxford Dictionaries Online have debuted a list of new words that now merit official definition. Following the recent trend in additions to the dictionary many of the words on the new list have their roots in technology or social media. Among the newly included is ZOMG: meaning "oh my God, especially on electronic message boards as a sarcastic comment on an inexperienced or overenthusiastic poster."

Other additions to the dictionary that are well known to internet users include: infographic, cyber monday, lifehack, network neutrality, overshare, paperless, social graph, twittersphere, permalink, and unfollow. But for those who are newbs to these words, grab your lappy and head over to the Oxford Dictionaries Online where you can read the full list. (Oxford Dictionaries via Mashable)

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Artist Mike Kelley has created his interpretation of Kandor, the lost city of Krypton that was stolen by Brainiac and shrunken down, stored in a bottle, then recovered by Superman. The effort has taken Kelley 10 years. Read the whole story at Comics Beat.

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In a move that will surely be heralded by at least someone as a sign of the decline of modern civilization and/or the English language, the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) has added the graphic symbol for a heart. Now, should we write that as "<3" or "♥"? The entry in the OED, which is about as close to a complete authority on the English language as you can get, lists the word with "heart" as a verb meaning "to love." Of course, "<3" is not the only modern term being added to the venerable OED. The Daily Mail reports that such entries include:

wags (as in 'wives and girlfriends') and muffin top ('a protuberance of flesh above the waistband of a tight pair of trousers'. [...] 'tinfoil hat' – a reference to a type of headwear believed by some to protect the wearer from mind control or surveillance – and 'scrunchy', an adjective describing a wrinkled appearance.

This is still the first time that a purely graphic symbol has been added to the OED. (The Daily Mail via The Village Voice)

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