It’s that time of year again: the OED has announced some of its new words.
You’ll have seen gigil in the news: an intense feeling caused by anger, eagerness, or the pleasure of seeing someone or something cute or adorable. There is usually a photo of a kitten doing its gigil-inspiring best. Though IMHO it would have been even better if the OED had linked it to squee in their historical thesaurus.
The historical thesaurus? It’s one of the glories of the OED and a useful resource for translators and editors. Off the record, it’s hours of endless fun. Like most entries in the OED, gigil ends with a link to all the similar terms from centuries of English (though not squee). Many entries also have a link to other types of English too, alongside the historical thesaurus. The new entry for class, complete with quote from Derry Girls, will carry you off to the early thirteenth century.
Now that’s gilden, prime, rare, and grand, isn’t it?
