The Oxford English Dictionary is the unrivalled reference to the meaning, history and pronunciation of the English language. It defines over half a million words, and lists 2.5 million quotations to illustrate their meanings. Its ten volumes took 50 years to compile.

These days, the OED's lexicographers publish quarterly updates to the online edition. On 11th September, 2011, they added and updated 1,546 entries from across the alphabet, notably those beginning with 'after', 'base', 'home', 'house' and 'letter'. The new words included many in common usage, including 'Britcom', 'terror campaign', 'stitch-up' and 'kewl'.

The other new words added to the OED in this update were maybe a little more obscure, but how many of them can you identify? I've listed 20 of the new words added in September 2011, and have given four possible definitions for each one – can you spot the correct one?

You'll find the answers at the foot of the page, but no peeking until you've guessed them all!

1. afty


a) afternoon

b) afterthought

c) clever

d) lagging behind

2. Basij


a) an earthquake-resistant building

b) a fishcake

c) an Iranian militant

d) a type of lager

3. bookmarklet


a) an integral page marker

b) a library classification code

c) a moth

d) a software app

4. chimichurri


a) an Argentine sauce

b) a Congolese mercenary

c) an Indian bureaucrat

d) a Mexican market

5. colourpoint


a) a breed of cat

b) a node in mathematical graph theory

c) a speckling technique used in fine art

d) the temperature at which a dye runs

6. dolichopellic


a) having linear rows of buds

b) having oily skin

c) having a particular shape of pelvis

d) having twelve lines (of a verse)

7. durgon


a) an Anglo-Saxon jacket

b) a fish

c) a Russian cocktail

d) a Spanish churchwarden

8. frammis


a) a raspberry liqueur

b) a scam

c) a thingummy

d) a template

9. gado-gado


a) an Indonesian salad

b) a Malawian village elder

c) a Saharan lizard

d) a Venezuelan dance

10. goldendoodle


a) a cross-bred dog

b) a unique selling point

c) a variety of plum

d) a windfall

11. house conventicle


a) an air-conditioning device

b) a casino regulation

c) a parliamentary procedure

d) a religious meeting

12. Kabwe


a) a lucky charm

b) a prehistoric man

c) a rickshaw

d) a shawl

13. Letto


a) a Baltic race

b) a bingo game involving letters.

c) a genus of tropical fish

d) a star in the constellation of Auriga

14. lirt


a) to deceive

b) to inform

c) to skip

d) to vomit

15. Orrorin


a) a hormone produced through fear

b) a Japanese apartment

c) a prehistoric man

d) a Russian businesswoman

16. pasella


a) a dinosaur feather

b) a flowering shrub

c) a Sardinian dance

d) a South African tip

17. Safavi


a) an African beach apartment

b) an Italian internet cafe

c) a Persian dynasty

d) a Yemeni magistrate

18. Securitate


a) a Chilean prison

b) a genus of lemur

c) the Mexican Finance Minister

d) the Romanian security service

19. shojo


a) a ball game

b) a gun enthusiasts' gathering

c) Manga comics aimed at young female readers

d) a street urchin

20. zaatar


a) a Middle-Eastern herb

b) the personification of a Hindu god

c) a stringed musical instrument

d) a unit of currency

1a 2c 3d 4a 5a 6c 7b 8c 9a 10a 11d 12b 13a 14a 15c 16d 17c 18d 19c 20a

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