Home / Channel / FYI, OMG and LOL added to Oxford Online English Dictionary

FYI, OMG and LOL added to Oxford Online English Dictionary

OMFG?! WTF M8, u 4 rl? Yes, we certainly are. Internet slang such as ‘OMG' and ‘LOL' have been added to the March 2011 release of the OED Online dictionary.

These abbreviations join those such as TMI (too much information) and BFF (best friends forever) in the newest update to the English vocabulary.  OED says that on the Internet or on texts “initialisms are quicker to type than the full forms, and (in the case of text messages, or Twitter, for example) they help to say more in media where there is a limit to a number of characters one may use in a single message.” No sh*t sherlock.

OMG and LOL however have been found “outside of electronic contexts, The intention is usually to signal an informal, gossipy mode of expression, and perhaps parody the level of unreflective enthusiasm or overstatement that can sometimes appear in online discourse, while at the same time marking oneself as an ‘insider' au fait with the forms of expression associated with the latest technology.”

What is particularly interesting however is that OED has researched a little and found that these terms weren't just invented by some spotty net kiddies. The first quotation of OMG was in a personal letter listed in 1917 and FYI originated in 1941. In 1960 LOL was used as an abbreviation for ‘little old lady'. Not sure, that translation works anymore.

KitGuru says: Other non tech related terms such as couch surfing, rub-a-dub and wassup also made the grade. Oh boy.

Become a Patron!

Check Also

Leo Says Ep.73: AMD APUs at CES 2024

KitGuru had a stonkingly successful CES 2024, however there is one small gap in our coverage that needs to be addressed. We gave plenty of coverage to Intel's new Core Ultra range of Meteor Lake laptop processors but appeared to give AMD the cold shoulder, and it is now time to fix that apparent oversight.