New food words added to the dictionary

Language is alive and ever-changing. New words continuously enter the lexicon, although not all of them catch on. Some do get staying power, and every year, Merriam-Webster evaluates new words circulating through the English-speaking world and decides which ones merit inclusion in the official dictionary. Food words are among those newly recognized names.

You will likely be familiar with all of the terms being added to the dictionary because the words need to be in use for a good long time before Merriam-Webster will include them – although a few of this year’s crop have sprung up fairly recently. For 2021, the new food-related entries include horchata, Goetta, and chicharron (English is always borrowing from other languages, isn’t it?).

Phrases are also added to the official lexicon. This year sees air fryer, ghost kitchen, curbside pickup/curbside delivery, wiener roast, and dine-in entering the dictionary. It’s difficult to comprehend that dine-in was not an official phrase before now! My favorite newly-legitimized food word for 2021 is fluffernutter, even though I don’t like the sandwich.

Photo of Pressure cooker Mexican sweet rice drink (Horchata) from Mealthy by Laura Pazzaglia