Merriam-Webster adds "fanboy," "malware" to dictionary

More than 100 new words — including some choice tech terms — will appear in the latest edition of the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary. Among them: "dark energy," "netroots," "webinar," and "pretexting."

First up: "Fanboy," defined as a "boy who is an enthusiastic devotee, such as of comics or movies." I've got a couple of bones to pick with this definition: "Fanboys" can either be boys or girls (I have some particularly withering e-mails from female "fanboys" to back me up), and "enthusiastic" is something of an understatement. And here's a trivia question: What's the first instance of "fanboy" in print? 1990? 1979? Nope—try 1919.

Long overdue is "malware" (1990), or "software designed to interfere with a computer's normal functioning." Well, "interfere" is one word for it.

Also making the grade: "Air quotes" (not exactly a tech term, I know, but I've sure seen plenty of them at production meetings), defined as a "gesture made by raising and flexing the index and middle fingers of both hands, used to call attention to a spoken word or expression." First evidence of use: 1989, around the time "Say Anything" came out ("How did that ... 'happen'?").

Then there's "dark energy" (1998), a "hypothetical form of energy that produces a force that opposes gravity and is thought to cause the accelerating expansion of the universe." Spooky.

Also on tap: "Netroots" (2003, just in time for Howard Dean's presidential bid), or "grassroots political activists who communicate via the Internet, especially by blogs."

Dating from 1992 is "pretexting," defined as "presenting oneself as someone else to obtain private information"—a practice that got wide attention during the 2006 HP pretexting scandal.

Last but not least: "Webinar," a live, online educational presentation during which participating viewers submit questions and comments."  Alternative use: A perfect time for napping.

Related:
Merriam-Webster unveils new dictionary words [AP, via Yahoo! News]