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The popular Merriam-Webster online dictionary added 370 new words and definitions to its lexicon, many of which stem from an increasingly online world amid the global pandemic.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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\u201cAltcoin\u201d refers to any cryptocurrency \u2013 a digital, decentralized form of payment with little regulations \u2013 that is \u201cregarded as alternatives to established cryptocurrencies,\u201d the most notable of which is Bitcoin. Bitcoin emerged in 2009<\/a> as the first cryptocurrency and remains among the most widely-used and valuable online currency.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n There are now thousands of altcoins, or alternative coins, including Ethereum, Polkadot, Dogecoin, Stellar and more.\u00a0<\/p>\n The term \u201cyeet\u201d falls under Merriam-Webster\u2019s slang and informal language category, and can be used as either an interjection \u2013 used to \u201cexpress surprised, approval or excited enthusiasm \u2013 or as a verb \u2013 meaning \u201cto throw especially with force and without regard for the thing being thrown.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n According to Know Your Meme<\/a>, the term first emerged online in 2014 when individuals began to dance along to the song “Yeet” by Quill. The dance went through many iterations on various social media platforms, including the now defunct Vine, though the meaning has changed in recent years.\u00a0<\/p>\n Other new additions to the slang and informal language category include \u201cjanky,\u201d which refers either to something of poor quality or does not operate properly, \u201csus,\u201d a shortened version of suspicious or suspect and \u201cMacGyver,\u201d which means to construct or repair an object with tools or items conveniently nearby.\u00a0<\/p>\n The word refers to the character Angus “Mac” MacGyver in the eponymous series from the 1980s, in which the protagonist was \u201cknown for regularly improvising solutions to practical problems with limited tools and materials,\u201d per Merriam-Webster.\u00a0<\/p>\n And though the term has been around for decades, the dictionary said words in the slang category \u201chave traditionally taken longer to meet our criteria, but that timeline is getting shorter as the internet accelerates the adoption of informal language.\u201d<\/p>\n Merriam-Webster frequently updates the terms included in its dictionary, writing in part: “Just as the language never stops evolving, the dictionary never stops expanding.”<\/p>\n “New terms and new uses for existing terms are the constant in a living language, and our latest list brings together both new and likely familiar words that have shown extensive and established use,” editors added.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Merriam-Webster site has about 40 million unique monthly users and about 100 million monthly page views.<\/p>\n