“Skibidi”, “tradwife,” and “delulu” are just a few of the words coined by Gen Z and Gen Alpha that will be newly added among the 6000 entries to the Cambridge Dictionary this year. The words will be added to the online edition of the dictionary.
The word skibidi originally came from a YouTube channels called Skibidi toilet. The online web series, which spans around 26 seasons, features evil animated toilets with talking heads coming out of them known as “Skibidi toilets,” trying to take over the world.
The word, which was then popularised online, was used in place of any word and is associated with social media brainrot content consumed by Gen Alpha.
Cambridge dictionary now defines it as “a word that can have different meanings, such as 'cool' or 'bad', or can be used with no real meaning as a joke.”
Tradwife, on the other hand, is a shortening of “traditional wife” and refers to women who pose as wives and mothers who cook, cleans, and takes care of children on social media. The word became increasingly common when there was a rise in the number of female social media creators who posted "tradwife content", videos of themselves doing “traditional wife” things to gain a specific type of audience.
The addition of the words in the dictionary suggests that the lexicons are here to stay for a long time.
Another word that has been permanently added to the modern lexicon is ‘delulu.’ Thinking that the English language will stay stagnant in the age of social media is delulu. The term has existed for over 10 years and was first used by K-pop stans to question fellow stans on their belief that they could get together with their idols. Staying delulu was their only solulu.
"It's not every day you get to see words like skibidi and delulu make their way into the Cambridge Dictionary," said Colin McIntosh, Lexical Programme manager at the Cambridge Dictionary. "We only add words where we think they'll have staying power. Internet culture is changing the English language and the effect is fascinating to observe and capture in the Dictionary."
Other phrases popularised by popular media include lewk and inspo. Lewk was popularised by Rupaul’s Drag Race and is commonly used in LGBTQ+ and drag culture. It used to describe an outfit that was put together and presented very thoughtfully. Cambridge defines it as “a particular style, fashion, or outfit (= a set of clothes worn together), especially one that is unusual and impressive.” You serve lewks, girl. Where did you get your inspo?
Broligarchy, a combination of the idea of a bro and an oligarchy, refers to ‘a small group of men, especially men owning or involved in a technology business, who are extremely rich and powerful, and who have or want political influence.” The broligarchy often refers to tech industry leaders or tech bros who own the platforms the words are spreading in. Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, etc, all make the cut.
A word that rose to fame after the pandemic is “mouse jiggler”, a device that helps you look like you are working on your screen when in fact you are actually not.
Another work related term is the idea of a work spouse. Cambridge defines it as “a person with whom someone has a close, but not romantic, relationship at work, in which the two people help and trust each other in the same way that a married couple does.”
But you do not want your real wife finding out about your work wife unless you want problems.