Wiki is now an official Oxford English Dictionary word

The word Wiki has primarily been made famous by the hugely popular online open source encyclopedia Wikipedia. This word was initially born on the Pacific Island of Hawaii and it has now become a part of the latest edition of the online Oxford English Dictionary.

Wiki is not alone; the dictionary has added 287 other new words.

OED chief editor John Simpson said in a statement on these new words: “Words are included in the dictionary on the basis of the documentary evidence that we have collected about them. A while ago this evidence suggested that wiki was starting to make a name for itself.”

He added: “We tracked it for several years, researched its origins and finally decided it was time to include it in the dictionary.”

Wiki is technically a web page which has been designed to be edited by anyone who accesses it. It enables quick editing and commenting of content on the web.

Simpson added: “Its long tradition of working on collaborative principles means it has welcomed the contribution of information and quotation evidence from the public over 150 years.”