Doggos. https://t.co/G2n32twS4X
— Merriam-Webster (@MerriamWebster) December 27, 2017
Language hasn’t stopped evolving.
We’ve seen new words being adopted into official dictionaries after explosive use on social media and, eventually, being used in several citations. Merriam-Webster will track usage of the word and, if it is used often enough, it earns its own entry. The internet has been a huge help with creating new vocabulary words, some words or expressions cropping up every single day and being perpetuated by memes.
It’s no wonder that, in our world of social media today being saturated by puppy photos and the cutesy, seemingly alien language that has accompanied this new wave of doggos and good boys and girls, that Merriam-Webster is now paying attention to the word “doggo.”
The word “doggo” was an actual word before it became a loving term for our canine companions. It actually meant to “remain motionless and quiet to avoid detection. But we humans were not satisfied with our simple term “dog” and we wanted the term to have as much personality as we have the love for our furry friends. And so, “doggo” was recalibrated.
The fact that it already had a previous meaning also makes it not an official word (just yet!). Merriam-Webster’s “words we’re watching” is for words that have caught their attention but aren’t quite given an entry just yet because they haven’t met the criteria. But knowing that they’re tracking it seems to excite a plethora of people, so much so that they’ve sent pictures of their lovable doggos to Merriam-Webster.
Oh no, now our mentions are full of good boys and girls. Whatever shall we do except love every one.
— Merriam-Webster (@MerriamWebster) December 27, 2017
Doggos are definitely there for us to love. Thank you, Merriam-Webster!
What do you think about doggos? Let us know!
