Cheat code and cutscene are also among the gaming terms added to the book, with the former meaning a code which is entered to give a player access to hidden features, and the latter meaning a scene which is watched inbetween gameplay. — Photo by Houcine Ncib on Unsplash
LONDON: Words commonly used in association with video games and the name of a Dutch sweet treat are among the terms that have been added to the Oxford English Dictionary.
The new additions come as part of the dictionary’s quarterly update and include player character and non-player character, along with their abbreviations NPC and PC, meaning characters those playing video games can and cannot control.
Cheat code and cutscene are also among the gaming terms added to the book, with the former meaning a code which is entered to give a player access to hidden features, and the latter meaning a scene which is watched inbetween gameplay.
Elsewhere, stroopwafel has been added to the English dictionary, thanks to the treat’s growing popularity in the UK. The snack, which originated in the Netherlands, consists of two thin waffles separated by a syrup or caramel filling and is traditionally placed on top of a hot drink to warm it.
Snark, meaning a person who complains in an indirect or sarcastic way, blandify, which means to make something bland, and the phrase cosy crime, which means a genre of crime novels without graphic descriptions of violence, have also been added.
The term board gamers has been added, to mean those who play board games, along with the phrase three-dimensional chess, which had previously been associated with the sci-fi TV series Star Trek, but is now used to describe a particularly complex activity.
Also among the December additions were passion project, to mean a challenge undertaken for personal enjoyment rather than financial gain, and lickspittle, which means to speak or act in an excessively flattering way. – PA Media/dpa
