The Spanish version of Jebediah Springfield’s famous phrase says: “A noble spirit embiggens the smallest man.” That’s a more than acceptable translation if we consider that “embiggens” was derived from “embiggen”, a word created by writer Dan Greaney in 1996. Twenty-two years later, The Simpsons make history again with the addition of “embiggen” to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, so now it’s official.
The Origin of ‘Embiggen’
It all began in the sixteenth episode of the seventh season, “Lisa the Iconoclast.” In one scene, two words are mentioned: “embiggens”, translated as “agrandece”, and “cromulent”, which became “validancia.” At the time (February 1996 to be precise), neither word was recognized. “Embiggens” was an invention of Dan Greaney, while “cromulent” belongs to David X. Cohen. However, someone took the trouble to trace “embiggen” back to an 1884 edition of the British newspaper Notes and Queries. So if it appeared written more than 130 years ago and fans of The Simpsons used it to exhaustion, what prevents it from becoming an official word?
Merriam-Webster Adds 850 New Words
The answer is nothing, because that’s exactly what just happened. Merriam-Webster decided to incorporate “embiggen” permanently, and anyone wanting proof can click here. Embigen is part of the battalion of 850 new words added to the English language, among which are “glamping” (like camping, but luxurious), “microcredit”, “welp” (a variant of “well”), and, believe it or not, “cryptocurrency”.
How a Word Gets into the Dictionary
According to Merriam-Webster associate editor Emily Brewster, for a word to be added to the dictionary it must have broad, sustained, and significant use. Embigen meets these three conditions; however, in the case of “cromulent”, opinions will be divided for a while longer (Oxford English recognizes it, as well as embiggen, but Merriam-Webster doesn’t).
Editor’s note: The inclusion of embiggen and cromulent in the Oxford dictionary was in April 2017.
