Satoshi, Bitcoin’s Smallest Unit of Account, Is Added To Oxford English Dictionary (OED)

Bitcoin is becoming popular and changing the world. One big proof of that now is the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) has added a new term to its list: Satoshi, the smallest unit of Bitcoin. This was a part of the quarterly update that the company does every three months to remain always updated with the current trends in language.

According to a new blog post of the OED, the word was first used seven years ago and the name comes from the creator of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto.

This is not the first crypto-related word added to the OED. Back in 2013, the dictionary added the term Bitcoin as well and defined it as a digital currency that can be used to perform transactions without the need for a central bank.

In the following year, 2014, cryptocurrency was also accepted as a word by the dictionary. The term was defined as a digital currency that is encrypted and can be used to transfer funds, as well as to operate independently as a central bank.

Other words related to the crypto world include blockchain and miner (in the sense of crypto-miner). Some of these words, however, are only in the Oxford Dictionaries Online (ODO). The main difference between the OED and the ODO is that the OED never removes a word and is more focused on how the language changes over time while the ODO is focused on its practical and contemporary uses.

Bitcoin has also been named the Term of the Year in 2017 by Investopedia, an online encyclopedia that can be used as a learning resource.