'Wiki' works its way into the dictionary, followed by 'bimbette'

Wiki, ta-da and irritainment are among the new words that have been added to the Oxford English Dictionary this month.

Wiki is defined as: "A type of web page designed so that its content can be edited by anyone who accesses it, using a simplified mark-up language."

Graeme Diamond, the OED's principal editor of new words, said: "Wiki joins a small but distinguished group of words which are directly or ultimately borrowings into English from Hawaiian. It has been suggested that in some ways the OED itself resembles a wiki: its long tradition of working on collaborative principles means it has welcomed the contribution of informationfrom the public for over 150 years."

Other new words making it into the OED includeTa-da, a word "used to accompany or draw attention to a dramatic entrance, announcement etc". It was recently used as the title for the second album by the band Scissor Sisters.

Irritainment is broadcast material which is irritating yet still entertaining.

Bimbette is used to describe a young woman or adolescent girl, "especially one regarded as sexually attractive but thought to lack intelligence or distinctive personality."

And tighty-whities are men's snug-fitting white cotton underpants;

John Simpson, chief editor of the OED, said: "Words are included on the basis of the documentary evidence.

"A while ago, evidence suggested that wiki was starting to make a name for itself. We tracked it for several years, researched its origins, and finally decided it was time to include it.

"Bimbette was a bit slower to take off."