Mouse potato (Function: noun; Etymology: after couch potato; slang: a person who spends a great deal of time using a computer) is one of the 100 new words being added to the 2006 update of Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition.
Perhaps it’s not earth-shattering news, but it is kind of interesting to see where our language is going. “Google” finally made it in as a verb; surprisingly that use of Google is only 5 years old. Come to think of it, when I started college in 1994 (yep, just gave away my age) IU was just getting its first student email accounts set up. In fact, The Onion took on this issue in their story Recently Unearthed E-Mail Reveals What Life Was Like In 1995.
Some other choice words in the new dictionary are:
biodiesel-Function: noun
a fuel that is similar to diesel fuel and is derived from usually vegetable sources (as soybean oil)
manga-Function: noun
Etymology: Japanese, comic, cartoon, from man- involuntary, aimless + -ga picture
a Japanese comic book or graphic novel
aquascape-Function: noun
1 : a scenic view of a body of water
2 : an area having a natural or constructed aquatic feature (as a pond or fountain)
and sandwich generation-Function: noun
: a generation of people who are caring for their aging parents while supporting their own children.
