Oxford Dictionaries Adds 'Appletini,' 'Dumphone,' 'Flexitarian,' 'Friend Zone' In February 2013 Update

Oxford Dictionaries has added several new words to its collection in its February 2013 update, including “appletini,” “dumphone,” “flexitarian” and “friend zone.”

“Contemporary culture and social media both continue to influence the English language and newly added words,” Oxford said about the 26-word list that includes several terms such as “hump day” that has long been a popular term meaning “Wednesday, regarded as the midpoint of a typical working week.”

Many terms are hybrids of two or more words, such as “appletini,” meaning, “a cocktail consisting of vodka mixed with apple juice, apple liqueur or cider,” or “flexetarian,” meaning “a person who has a primarily vegetarian diet but occasionally eats meat or fish.”

The New York Observer notes that the term “friend zone,” in particular, meaning “a situation in which a platonic relationship exists between two people, one of whom has an undeclared romantic or sexual interest in the other,” is popular among many that frequent social media website Reddit.

Words such as “tweetable,” meaning “suitable for posting on the social media site Twitter,” and “dumbphone,” meaning “a basic mobile phone that lacks the advanced functionality characteristic of a smartphone,” have been made popular due to modern trends as Twitter and smartphones.

While other such as “braggadocious,” meaning “boastful or arrogant,” are centuries-old and making a comeback.

Check out the entire list at Oxford Dictionaries.