Word created by The Simpsons added to US dictionary
- Published

"Embiggen" has been added to a US dictionary - a word first heard on The Simpsons in 1996.
Merriam-Webster included the word, which has been popularised partly because of the comic Ms Marvel, among 850 new words and definitions.
It is from the motto of The Simpsons' fictional town of Springfield: "A noble spirit embiggens the smallest man."
It means to "make bigger or more expansive", says Merriam-Webster.
A noble spirit embiggens the smallest man.
— Merriam-Webster (@MerriamWebster) March 5, 2018
Also, 'embiggen' is now a word we enter. https://t.co/3XmkZO0ral pic.twitter.com/wLUDsWIAga
The word was first heard is the 1996 episode Lisa the Iconoclast, where Jebediah Springfield - the founder of the town - uses it.
— Oren ➰ (@OrenCJenkins) March 5, 2018
Bart's Springfield Elementary teacher Mrs Krabappel says she'd never heard heard the word before she moved to Springfield.
Lisa's teacher Miss Hoover replies: "I don't know why. It's a perfectly cromulent word."
The Simpsons writer Michael Price tweeted that we have writer Dan Greaney to thank for the word.
Congrats to my friend, @dangreaney, the creator of "embiggen". https://t.co/tkJmTdsw78
— Michael Price (@mikepriceinla) March 5, 2018
Marvel Comics, whose character Ms Marvel has the power to embiggen herself, also tweeted about the addition to the dictionary.
VOCABULARY: EMBIGGEN! 👊🏽
— Marvel Entertainment (@Marvel) March 5, 2018
Kamala Khan took over as Ms Marvel in 2014 after the previous one, Carol Danvers, became Captain Marvel.
Writer G Willow Wilson, who also helped create the most recent version of the character, was also pretty pleased.
OH MY GAWWWDDDDD https://t.co/82VgM8OYmv
— G. is in the Dictionary (@GWillowWilson) March 5, 2018
She admits that she didn't even get the Simpsons reference when she first started using the word.
Here is a true story: growing up, my parents didn't let us watch much TV, so the first time I encountered the word "embiggen" was in reference to sizing JPEGs. Didn't realize it was a Simpsons thing until years later.
— G. is in the Dictionary (@GWillowWilson) March 5, 2018
Other words added to the dictionary include mansplain, glamping and tzatziki.