New words and meaning

A fascinating topic! New words and their meanings can emerge in various ways, such as:

1. Neologisms: New words created to describe new concepts, ideas, or technologies. Examples: "selfie," "hashtag," "emoji."
2. Semantic shift: Existing words taking on new meanings over time. Examples: "nice" (originally meant "foolish" or "silly"), "awful" (originally meant "awe-inspiring" or "fearful").
3. Borrowing: Words borrowed from other languages, cultures, or dialects. Examples: "sushi" (from Japanese), "curry" (from Tamil), "chocolate" (from Nahuatl).
4. Acronyms: Abbreviations that become words. Examples: "SCUBA" (Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus), "LASER" (Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation).
5. Blends: Words created by combining parts of other words. Examples: "smog" (smoke + fog), "brunch" (breakfast + lunch).
6. Metaphorical extensions: Words taking on new meanings through metaphorical associations. Examples: "heart" (originally meant "organ," now also means "emotions"), "mind" (originally meant "brain," now also means "thoughts" or "intellect").

Some recent examples of new words and their meanings:

• Vaxxer (noun): a person who has been vaccinated against COVID-19 (2020)
• Infodemic (noun): a situation in which there is an overwhelming amount of information about a particular topic, making it difficult to distinguish fact from fiction (2020)
• Social distancing (noun): the practice of maintaining a safe physical distance from others to reduce the transmission of COVID-19 (2020)
• Zoom fatigue (noun): the feeling of exhaustion or burnout caused by excessive video conferencing (2020)
• Climate anxiety (noun): a feeling of worry or concern about the impact of climate change (2019)

These are just a few examples of how language is constantly evolving and adapting to our changing world.