Retweeten, flarf and grexit are official Dutch words

Smartphone, wordfeuden, retweeten and ‘casual gaming’ are all new entries in the Dikke van Dale dictionary, the publishing house said on Wednesday.


In total, some 1,500 new words have been added to the dictionary. Some, such as Grexit – or Greek exit from the eurozone – and big bazooka (a drastic financial or economic measure to solve a crisis) reflect economic developments.
Others derive from internet, such as flarf – a poem based on the results of an internet search – and wordfeuden, the online scrabble-based game.
While the Dutch are quick to appropriate and develop their own words from other languages, some new entries are straightforward translations. These include vlaggenschipwinkel – a literal translation of flagship store and toeristenval, a translation of tourist trap.
Voedselwoestijn – literally food desert – is an urban or rural area with no supermarkets.

What’s your favourite new word? Have your say using the comment box below.

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