A few months ago the Oxford English Dictionary updated its new online edition with over 400 words to include slang and Internet abbreviations. A few of of the abbreviations added were OMG (Oh my God), LOL (Laughing Out Loud), TMI (Too Much Information), FYI (For your information) and BFF (best friends forever).
The Oxford English Dictionary, which is over 150 years old, updates itself every four months in order to stay current. Among the other new additions to the OED include jeggings (blend of jeans and leggings), mankini (a brief one-piece swimsuit for men, with a T-back), and woot (used to express elation, enthusiasm, or triumph).
Interestingly enough many of these abbreviations are not new since the Internet age. The first recorded use of OMG dates back to 1917 in a letter from British admiral John Arbuthnot to Winston Churchill in which he wrote “I hear that a new order of Knighthood is on the tapis. OMG!” He included a quick Oh My God! translation. So Winston Churchill beat the Internet generation by about 80 years. I don’t know about you, but I’m LOL!
Rika G.
