51吃瓜 of the Day
vibe
noun
a general feeling or sensation that someone gets or has about something.
Why Dictionary.com chose vibe
This year, one of the top lookups at Dictionary.com was the word vibe, the current go-to term鈥攁long with the plural vibes鈥攆or talking about the overall feel of a situation or person. Which got us thinking: Is there a word that best represents the culture vibe we collectively experienced in 2023? And so, for the first time, we鈥檝e chosen a . (In addition to our traditional .) Watch below to find out more!
More about vibe
- Vibe is an Americanism that dates back to 1965鈥�70.
- Vibe in the highlighted sense is often used in the plural as in,聽good vibes.
- Vibe was created by shortening the word vibration(s) in the sense of “instinctive feelings supposedly influencing human communication,” perhaps most famously used in the popular 1966 Beach Boys song, “Good Vibrations.”
EXAMPLES OF VIBE
- Watching the sunrise, they contemplated embracing a more relaxed vibe in the coming year.
- As soon as she entered the art gallery, a sense of calm and tranquility washed over her, giving her peaceful vibes.
boilerplate
noun
the detailed standard wording of a contract or warranty.
Why Dictionary.com chose boilerplate
More about boilerplate
- Boilerplate, also spelled boiler plate, was first recorded in 1855鈥�60.
- Boilerplate is a combination of boiler, 鈥渁 vessel for boiling and heating,鈥� and plate, 鈥渁 flat or curved sheet of metal.鈥�
- Boilerplate was originally used to refer to the plates made for boilers.
- The use of boilerplate to refer to reusable text is likely based on the fact that the first boilerplate text was stamped into the metal to be used in the printing press.
- Now boilerplates are used in all kinds of documents for all kinds of industries, most notably journalism and computer programming.
EXAMPLES OF BOILERPLATE
- The warranty for the product had a section that was all boilerplate, outlining its limitations and exclusions.
- The company’s terms and conditions included a boilerplate clause that protected their intellectual property rights.
Why Dictionary.com chose en masse
More about en masse
- En masse was borrowed into English from French around 1795鈥�1805.
- En masse in French means “in a body,” literally “in a mass.”
- The English word聽mass comes from the Latin word massa, meaning 鈥渕ass,鈥� which came from the Greek word 尘芒锄补, 鈥渂arley cake.鈥�
- 惭芒锄补 is related to the Greek verb 尘谩蝉蝉别颈苍, 鈥渢o knead.鈥�
EXAMPLES OF EN MASSE
- After the game ended, fans left the stadium en masse, discussing their favorite plays and memorable moments.
- The birds took flight from their nests en masse, filling the sky with a mesmerizing display of synchronized movement.