Carbon footprint enters the dictionary
August 14, 2008
"Carbon footprint", "eco-village" and "electrosmog" are among the new environmental terms which have made it into the latest Chambers Dictionary.
Popular culture has also had an influence, with "wardrobe malfunction" and "fashion forward" also included.
"Credit crunch" and "wags", which have recently won places in other dictionaries, also feature.
Dictionary editors said the new words painted a "vivid picture of current interests and concerns".
"Electrosmog" refers to the electromagnetic fields emitted by computers and mobile phones, "eco-village" is a term used for small ecologically-sustainable communities and "carbon footprint" is the measure of the impact human activities on the environment.
They are joined by two other environmental terms, "food miles" and "green tax", in the 11th edition of the dictionary.
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