How to find your birthday word

The powers that be add new words to the dictionary all the time - but have you ever wondered how recent the language you use everyday is?

Now you can find out your "birthday word" – words that were ‘born’ around the same time you were through the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), who provide an online search tool which allows you to find the first known date for which a word was used.

On their blog, Oxford Dictionaries provide some examples, which we’ve compiled in a list for you below.

The dates given for the above words are for the current first known use of the word. This can be subject to change if earlier uses are found later.

Noticeably, as we come to the end of the twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty first, new words become more focused on technology and social media.

If you wish, you can also search the OED for words that were first used in the very month in which you were born through following this brief guide, provided by the OED.

We should warn you that this search tool is limited to those with a subscription service. However, you may be able to access it via academic institution log-ins.

Happy hunting!

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