'Meh': new word for indifference enters English dictionary

"Meh", a word which indicates a lack of interest or enthusiasm, became the latest addition to the Collins English Dictionary on Monday.

The word, which beat hundreds of other suggestions from members of the public, will feature in the 30th anniversary edition of the dictionary, which is to be published next year.

Though the word apparently originates from North America, Collins said it was now widely used on the Internet, and was increasingly seen in British spoken English.

The dictionary entry for "meh" will say it can be used as an interjection to indicate indifference or boredom, as an adjective to describe something as boring or mediocre, or to show an individual is apathetic or unimpressed.

The word was popularized by the US comedy animation series "The Simpsons", where characters Bart and Lisa use it to express indifference when their father Homer suggests a day trip.

It was submitted by Erin Whyte from Nottingham, central England, and a panel of Collins language experts singled it out from the hundreds of other submissions because of its frequency of use in modern English.

"This is a new interjection from the US that seems to have inveigled its way into common speech over here," said Cormac McKeown, head of content at Collins Dictionaries.

"It shows people are increasingly writing in a register somewhere in between spoken and written English."

Other words submitted to Collins's campaign -- which was launched in June and called on members of the public to suggest words they used in everyday English -- were jargonaut (a fan of jargon); frenemy (an enemy disguised as a friend) and huggles (a hybrid of hugs and snuggles).

表示没兴趣或无聊的“Meh”一词于本周一成为《柯林斯英语字典》中的新成员。

“Meh”从数百个由公众提名的候选词中脱颖而出，将收录至将于明年出版的《柯林斯英语字典》30周年纪念版中。

尽管该词最初起源于北美，但柯林斯字典称，目前该词在网上十分流行，而且在英国人日常口语中的使用频率也越来越高。

《柯林斯英语字典》对“meh”一词的解释是：可用作感叹词或形容词，表示感到无聊或没兴趣；或形容某事没意思或某人缺乏兴趣、冷淡。

“Meh”一词的流行源于美国喜剧动画片《辛普森一家》，片中的巴特和莉莎对爸爸霍莫一日游的提议表示不感兴趣时，就用了这个词。

该词由来自英格兰中部诺丁汉的艾林•怀特提交。经柯林斯字典语言专家评审组的评定，鉴于该词在现代英语中的使用频率较高，所以最终从几百个候选词中胜出。

柯林斯字典内容部负责人考玛克•麦克欧文说：“来自美国的一个新潮词进入了我们的日常用语。”

“这说明，现在人们使用的书面语越来越口语化。”

这项由柯林斯字典发起的新词评选活动于今年6月启动，主要面向公众征集他们在日常生活中经常使用的一些新词语。其它提交的新词包括jargonaut（爱用术语的人）、frenemy（伪善朋友）和huggles（hugs 和snuggles的合成词）等。