The Oxford English Dictionary, which is published by Oxford University Press, now has a new addition to the English language word’s collection. The word is “satoshi” and derives itself from the name of the developer of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto.

The word satoshi was first used not less than seven years ago, which is not that long and it goes on to become the latest word added to the dictionary. This new addition comes as a part of a quarterly update to the respected source’s database. The other words added include “Manhattanhenge,” “whatevs” and the revised history of “fake news.”

The OED officially defines a satoshi as “the smallest monetary unit in the bitcoin digital payment system, equal to one hundred millionth of a bitcoin,” or 0.00000001 BTC.

OED lexicographers go for a descriptive approach to language. They dig deep into the emergence of words, and their popularity growth or decline, and modify definitions accordingly over time.

Also, read – Is blockchain as secure as we think it is?

The OED’s policy says:

“Our role is to monitor and record emerging vocabulary so that we can make new terms available to our dictionary users as soon as they start to gain traction.”

Though the latest addition counts as a word from the crypto industry, this is not the first crypto word to be added to the renowned English-language vocabulary. In 2013, OED added “Bitcoin” as a word, which goes by the definition as “a digital currency in which transactions can be performed without the need for a central bank.”

Also, back in 2014, the Oxford Dictionary Online, the world’s chief judge on what can and cannot be considered to be the language of English, accepted cryptocurrency as a word. 

Cryptocurrency is defined as “a digital currency in which encryption techniques are used to regulate the generation of units of currency and verify the transfer of funds, operating independently of a central bank.”

Even Bitcoin has been well recognized as a term and was also named the 2017 Term of the Year by investment encyclopedia-like online learning resource Investopedia.