The English language is constantly changing, and new words are added to the dictionary all the time. The term “orbisculate” has not quite managed that yet, but it has earned its way into the mobile Scrabble game Words with Friends.
According to orbisculate.com, orbisculate is a verb meaning “to accidentally squirt juice and/or pulp into one’s eye.” Entrepreneur and former Harvard faculty member Neil Krieger invented the term. He tragically passed away from COVID-19 last April. Almost a year after his death, mobile developer Zynga added orbisculate to Words with Friends.
The inclusion of orbisculate is part of a more considerable effort by Krieger’s family to bring the word into widespread use. Krieger invented the term while a student at Cornell University. It eventually became such a standard part of his vocabulary that Krieger’s children grew up believing it was an official word in the English language. When they discovered it was not, the Krieger family embarked on a campaign to see it receive the recognition they felt it deserved. Its inclusion in Zynga’s Words with Friends seems to be a step in that direction.
While a touching tribute to a loving father, it may seem like an overambitious goal. However, the prospect might not be as impossible as it sounds. As orbisculate.com points out, all it takes is enough people using a word to make it official. The website argues that if Homer Simpson’s iconic “D’oh!” can make it into common parlance, there is no reason orbisculate can’t. It also has the advantage of describing a nearly universal experience that does not already have a single word to describe it.
In addition to adding it to the game’s dictionary, Orbisculate was Words with Friends’ Word of the Day on April 16th. Inclusion in the popular mobile puzzle game is not quite the same as making it into the Webster’s or Oxford Dictionary. Still, it’s a significant victory and a good step towards bringing orbisculate into broader usage. Anyone interested in helping achieve that goal can sign the online petition at orbisculate.com.
Words with Friends is available on Android and iOS.
Source: Zynga, orbisculate.com