The Oxford Dictionaries tells us every year what’s new in language. Its word of the year for 2014 is “vape”: a verb which, Oxford said, “originated as an abbreviation of vapour (the English spelling) or vaporize.” 

Its Oxford definition is “to inhale and exhale the vapour procured by an electronic cigarette or similar device” with “vaping” listed as an associated noun.

Vape is the word of the year because of the growth in the market of e-cigarettes, and its use has doubled in the past year, Oxford said.

Runners-up, and they are all new to us, are the following: 

Bae, “a term of endearment for one’s romantic partner”;

Budtender, “a person whose job is to serve customers in a cannabis dispensary or shop”;

Contactless, involving “technologies that allow a smart card, mobile phone, etc. to contact wirelessly to an electronic reader, typically in order to make a payment”;

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