What’s New in the English Language?

Our quirky English language has more than 100 new additions this year according to Merriam-Webster. Here’s a sampling to add to your mangous vocabulary:

Carbon footprint (1999): the negative impact that something (as a person or business) has on the environment; specifically: the amount of carbon emitted by something during a given period.

Flash mob (1987): a group of people summoned (as by e-mail or text message) to a designated location at a specified time to perform an indicated action before dispersing.

Frenemy (1977): one who pretends to be a friend but is actually an enemy.

Sock puppet (1959): a false online identity used for deceptive purposes.

Staycation (2005): a vacation spent at home or nearby.

Vlog (2002): a blog that contains video material.

Webisode (1996): an episode esp. of a TV show that may or may not have been telecast but can be viewed at a Web site.