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 its ten volumes took 50 years to compile.

These days, the OED's lexicographers publish quarterly updates to the online edition. In the June 2012 update, they concentrated on updating a whole bunch of words whch start with the prefixes 'sub-' and 'super-'. We can now proudly use words like 'sub-ether' and 'superbabe', safe in the knowledge that the OED does too.

As well as the above, many new words were added to the dictionary. Well-known ones include 'bimble', 'carpet-bomb' and 'quantitative easing'. They also added the intriguing 'Hooverian', yet this is nothing to do with followers of a well-known cult; it relates to the administration of US president Herbert Hoover.

The other new words they added were maybe a little more obscure, but how many of them can you identify? I've listed 20 of the new words added in June 2012, and have given four possible definitions for each – 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. aptronym


a) an Anglo Saxon poem

b) a name appropriate to ones profession, eg. 'Mr Bunn the baker'

c) the nearest point of an elliptically orbiting object

d) a word duplicated for emphasis

2. arene


a) an open-air theatre

b) a smelly organic compound

c) a structure in mathematical set theory

d) a variety of tree frog

3. Babalawo


a) a barn

b) a pestle

c) a modern-day pirate

d) a witch-doctor

4. bogan


a) a camera

b) a mischievous spirit

c) a Sri Lankan tree

d) an uncool person

5. cortado


a) a rancher

b) a ship

c) a sweatband

d) a type of coffee

6. crureus


a) the cross-shaped mark on a donkey's back

b) a leg muscle

c) a lily

d) a moth

7. digipak


a) an air-filled polythene cushion

b) a CD/DVD holder

c) a foam 'peanut'

d) an organic produce delivery

8. galaktoboureko


a) a dessert

b) a financial bailout

c) a footballer

d) a star chart

9. Gallimimus


a) an area of the brain

b) a bowel disease

c) a dinosaur

d) a moon of Saturn

10. Godwin's Law


a) change cannot take place without urgency

b) in a long online debate someone will eventually compare something to the Nazis

c) justice can never satisfy the victim

d) there can be no fundimental particle

11. khanda


a) an industrial estate

b) a rickshaw

c) a Sikh ceremonial sword

d) a sport similar to field hockey

12. MRS


a) a bone disease

b) a clause in fiscal policy

c) a medical scan

d) a spoof degree qualification attained by women who marry

13. retcon


a) artificial intelligence

b) a device used by writers to dramatically change the plot

c) a national security directive

d) a structure found in neural cells

14. spirulina


a) a fern

b) food poisoning

c) twisty pasta

d) a type of blue-green algae

15. sriracha


a) a jungle guerilla

b) a local government officer

c) a spicy Thai sauce

d) a village

16. sub tegmine fagi


a) a part of the bile duct

b) in the shade of a tree

c) a Roman method of torture

d) testimony given while not under oath

17. subcingle


a) an ecclesiastical vestment

b) a mathematical root

c) a Roman basement

d) a spoon

18. Suberite


a) an adhesive

b) a follower of philosopher Wilhelm Suber

c) a member of a Turkish tribe

d) a sponge

19. suplex


a) a food aid programme

b) a maisonette

c) a synthetic rubbery material

d) a wrestling move

20. suppeditation


a) bringing something under control

b) chiropody

c) correcting of mistakes

d) decay

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

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