Welcome to the September edition of Words to Watch
At the Macquarie Dictionary, when a new word or new use of a word is brought to our attention, we investigate to decide if it warrants an entry in the Macquarie and an official place in the Australian lexicon.
Below are five words currently under consideration for entry into the Macquarie Dictionary. In the case they get their own entries, they may even be considered for Word of the Year.
conspirituality
an ideology that combines alternative beliefs with conspiracy theories.
hunt-and-peck
a style of typing where individual keys are searched for and struck with only two fingers.
overtourism
a situation in which tourism rates damage the environment of a tourist area, or negatively affect the lives of people who live there.
rawdogging
taking a long-haul flight with no form of entertainment – no music, films, games, books or magazines.
mog
to assert dominance over (someone) by virtue of physical attractiveness, strength or other characteristic.
So what do you think? Is the overtourism of popular cities and rawdogging flights the new normal for travelling? Can the practice of conspirituality genuinely deepen one’s spiritual journey, or does it merely complicate our quest for truth in an already perplexing digital age where even typing, for some, remains a hunt-and-peck affair? Or is the significant shift in social dynamics due to mogging the biggest change we’re currently experiencing?
And of course, our main question, do these words deserve a place in the Macquarie Dictionary?
As always, we encourage new word submissions through our Suggest a Word Page. Submissions are reviewed for potential future inclusion in the Macquarie Dictionary, or a Words to Watch blog.
