Hangry is officially a word in the Oxford English Dictionary
— -- Anyone who has ever felt so hungry to the point of getting angry can finally associate that feeling with an official word: hangry.
The term that so many people and companies have used for years was one of more than 1,100 new words, senses and subentries added to the Oxford English Dictionary in its latest update on Jan. 29.
Social media users were quick to chime in on the word's official recognition and added their own personal ties to the subsequent feelings they've experienced while overly hungry.
Although the term is just being recognized officially, it has long been part of a common vernacular and dates as far back as the 1950s, according to OED.
"It is only in the 21st century that the word hangry, a blend of hungry and angry used colloquially to mean 'bad-tempered or irritable as a result of hunger,' has entered common use," Katherine Connor Martin, Oxford University Press' head of U.S. Dictionaries, said in a press release.
"The earliest known evidence for the word dates from 1956, in an unusual article in the psychoanalytic journal American Imago that describes various kinds of deliberate and accidental wordplay. The author mentions hangry in a discussion of words formed by contraction or elision," Martin said.
Funny phrases using the word hangry have been seen on memes, social media, merchandise, apps and even ad campaigns in recent years.
The candy brand Snickers' slogan "You're not you when you're hungry" captures the essence of what it means to be hangry and the company even created an entire ad campaign last year around the idea.
While that hungry and irritable feeling will pass with a quick bite to eat, the word hangry is now officially here to stay.
