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Dutch language gained about 3650 new words in 2007


Tags: Excerpts from the Windmill

AMSTERDAM — The vocabulary in the Dutch language keeps evolving and increasing. In the past year, editors at Van Dale (the Dutch Websters) registered about 3650 new words. Although hard to translate without an explanation, the word Bokitoproof, for example, was coined to describe a level of security at a zoo that adequately protects people from an attack by antagonized monkeys who break loose. Opacriminaliteit describes seniors who engage in pretty criminal acts, and Wilfen applies to Internet users who forget what they are surfing for. Other words noted are formatiemoeheid (formation fatique, which sets in after a long period during which parties tried to cobble a cabinet together), reltoerist (one who frequents riots), and the self evident term klimaatneutraal. To gain an entry in Van Dale's wordlist, the words must be spotted in at least two different sources, over a minimum period of two weeks and be used more than six or seven times. It is not known how many words remained unused in 2007.