Fans of the wizarding world of Harry Potter who wonder why some terms are not used in common parlance, will be pleased to learn that a new word from the book series will soon be included in the Oxford English Dictionary. After including “muggle,” the Oxford Dictionary has added another popular word associated with the Harry Potter series – “Quidditch.” The popular sport at Hogwarts – in which Harry was the chaser and had to catch the elusive golden snitch – has made it into the Oxford Dictionary. On Tuesday, April 11, the dictionary added “quidditch” to its growing list of words.
We added 'quidditch' to the dictionary today! https://t.co/aPkVD8Wlnh pic.twitter.com/kPpQShiPbX
— Oxford Dictionaries (@OxfordWords) April 11, 2017
The dictionary defines the word as: “A team sport while straddling broomsticks, in which goals are scored by throwing a ball through any of three hoops fixed at either end of the pitch.”
"Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone" catapulted the series’ author J.K. Rowling to fame. It was this book that first introduced Potterheads to the word “muggle.” The word “muggle” quickly made its way to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2002. However, “muggle” and “quidditch” are not the only terms from the popular book series to have made it into the dictionary.
It is rumored that three more terms, which most Harry Potter aficionados would know of, are on the verge of getting included in the dictionary as well.
Three more Harry Potter words to be included
The three words from the Harry Potter series that are reportedly on the OUP’s list include Bellatrix, Potterhead, and Wrock.
Potterhead is basically any fan of the book series.
Wrock is an acronym for Wizard Rock and in the world of Harry Potter, it is a reference to a music genre. Bellatrix, on the other hand, is one of the characters in the book. Rowling named her after a star in the Orion belt. It is not known by when these words may be included, however, it took the term “quidditch” several years to make the cut.
It is also supposed that the term "horcrux" may also be included soon.
Will Merriam-Webster follow suit?
Currently, if you search for “quidditch” the dictionary suggests that you likely misspelled the word “quiddity.” Hopefully this dictionary will also include some words in the near future.
