New words – 27 March 2017

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beditate verb [I] /ˈbed.ɪ.teɪt/
to meditate in bed

Beditating on waking allows the fight-or-flight response to calm down, thus widening the perceptual field. It’s a kind of turbo rest, and one that you’re not going to get by reaching for your phone, drinking coffee or alcohol, watching television, or even reading.
[The Sunday Times, 08 January 2017]

heli-yoga noun [U] UK /ˈhel.ɪ.jəʊ.gə/ US ˈhel.ə.joʊ.gə
the activity of taking a helicopter to an isolated outdoor location and doing a yoga session there

Sin City is the jumping-off point for heli-yoga, the zen practise [sic] of taking a helicopter flight to an Insta-worthy location, to unfurl your yoga mat and knock out a few sun salutations.
[Telegraph, 26 November 2016]

lagom noun [U] UK /lɑ:ˈgɒm/ US /lɑ:ˈgɑ:m/
a Swedish word meaning ‘just enough’, especially when relating to one’s lifestyle

There’s a new Scandi buzzword in town and its name is lagom – living in moderation, sustainably and heeding the importance of ‘just enough’ … While we’re not ready to give up our hygge-tastic faux fur throw just yet we also like the sound of some lagom-style equilibrium in our lives.
[Metro, 12 January 2017]

About new words

16 thoughts on “New words – 27 March 2017

  1. Pingback: (EN) – New words: 27 March 2017 | cambridge.org – 📚 Glossarissimo!

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  4. Ravenbella

    To be absolutely honest, I’m not against new words, it’s a sign that the world is progressing and making new attempts, which is a good thing. New words might even make our lives easier, take for example the word unibrow, that word didn’t exist before either but now it’s a commonly used word for all professional make-up artist and even regular teen girls. Saying unibrow is easier and less straight forward than saying “Oh hey, not to be rude, but your EYEBROWS THAT MEET IN THE SPACE BETWEEN YOUR EYES ABOVE YOUR NOSE makes you look like an alien.” and that’s just a mouthful to say. My opinion about the word beditate is to give it a chance and maybe people will start using this as common language. And even if beditate doesn’t end up as an official word, people can still use it and it wouldn’t do any harm. (written by a 14 year old)

    1. Thanks for your interesting and thought-provoking comment. You’re absolutely right. Language is always changing and dictionaries need to keep up with these developments. Thanks also for drawing our attention to the word unibrow. We’ll be adding it to our dictionary next month!

  5. Thabo

    laughing so loud, am really impressed i never thought such word exist,cant stop telling my friends about it on a social media in de the morning when ask am was i doing for that 30min while they were texting and not respond my answer is BEDITATE.

  6. “Beditate” – made me think first. We should come up with more such words. I absolutely agree to put it in the dictionary. And, as Ravenbella said, let’s give people a try.

    And, by the way, I’d love to know where this word originated? (Where you found it?)

  7. New words might even make our lives easier, take for example the word unibrow, that word didn’t exist before either but now it’s a commonly used word for all professional make-up artist and even regular teen girls. And even if beditate doesn’t end up as an official word, people can still use it and it wouldn’t do any harm.

  8. New words might even make our lives easier, take for example the word unibrow, that word didn’t exist before either but now it’s a commonly used word for all professional make-up artist and even regular teen girls.

  9. Catherine

    The question is- does every word for a social trend have to be included in the canon right away? I say “no.” When people meditate in bed, they are still meditating. If I meditate on a chair, the floor on a pillow or on a mountain- I am “just sitting” as the zen master’s say. I do get the concept of meditating first thing in the morning, but am not infatuated with the term. You know we Americans are big on free speech, so I am not criticizing use of the word. Wherever you meditate, you will still be more calm and centered that you were before.

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