'Selfie', 'hashtag' now in Merriam-Webster dictionary

NEW YORK - Agence France-Presse

A couple of tourists use a mobile phone to take a selfie picture as they kiss at the Trocadero Square near the Eiffel Tower in Paris, May 16, 2014. REUTERS Photo

"Selfie," "hashtag," and "tweep" are among more than 150 new words added to America's best-selling Merriam-Webster dictionary, spotlighting the growing influence of technology on everyday life.
      
"So many of these new words show the impact of online connectivity to our lives and livelihoods," said Peter Sokolowski, editor-at-large for Merriam-Webster.
      
"Tweep, selfie, and hashtag refer to the ways we communicate and share as individuals," he added.         Originally a social media buzzword, "selfie" was admitted to the online version of the Oxford English dictionary in 2013, which named it word of the year.
     
Merriam-Webster defined "selfie" as "an image of oneself taken by oneself using a digital camera especially for posting on social networks."       

"Crowdfunding," "big data" and "gamification," were also added, showing "how technology is being used to understand and motivate behavior," the dictionary said.
      
Another newbie was "catfish," defined as a person who sets up a false social networking profile for deceptive purposes.