BIG - BIGGER - BIGGEST are words we all use on an everyday basis but have you ever thought that 'a noble spirit embiggens the smallest man'? It is the motto from the fictional town of Springfield, the Simpsons' hometown, a good bit of trivia and the origin of one of the latest words to be included in the Merriam-Webster dictionary.

Together with textadent (an accident while texting), brunchner (a single meal eaten instead of breakfast, lunch and dinner, the only meal of the day), quartnight (a period of four weeks), naturous (having an affinity for the natural word) and other 850 words, it belongs to the last list of terms added to the Merriam-Webster compilation, America's most trusted online dictionary.

The word has been popularised not only by The Simpsons, in which it was first heard in 1996, but also by comic Ms Marvel.
Embiggen was first heard in an episode called 'Lisa the Iconoclast'. In it, Jebediah Springfield – the founder of Springfield – uses it when speaking to his fellow settlers. Bart's Springfield Elementary teacher, Mrs Krabappel tells her pupils that she hadn't heard of the word before moving to Springfield.