New edition of the dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy

Languages are living, dynamic structures... there are words that will always be used, others that will stop being used, and others that are born. And we can see this very well starting now, as the new edition of the Dictionary of the Spanish Language hits the bookstores.

The previous edition to this one dated back to 2001. That one had 88,431 entries, while this new edition, the twenty-third, has grown to have 93,111, of which nearly 19,000 are Americanisms. This proves that our language continues to evolve, is more alive than ever, and is enriched every day.

Now that the Internet dictates many trends, announces most of the news, and is part of our routine, it was necessary to accept new terms. Thus, in this new edition, we will find words such as “tuit” (tweet), “tuitear” (to tweet), “tuitero” (tweeter), “red social” (social network), or “hipervínculo” (hyperlink).

Other accepted terms have become common thanks to the world of current media: “Pilates”, “dron” (drone), “bótox”, “multiculturalidad” (multiculturalism), “espanglish” (Spanglish)...

One point that has received special attention is that of amendments. Many words adjust their meaning over time, and occasionally it is necessary to make clarifications to prevent a word from being archaic or socially unacceptable. Thus, “femenino” (feminine) no longer has "weak" as a definition, and “masculino” (masculine) no longer means "energetic."

Spanish continues changing, evolving, adapting, growing... and, above all, modernizing.