Merriam-Webster has officially added the non-binary pronoun "they" as an entry in its dictionary.
Merriam-Webster announced Tuesday that the word "they" can be used to refer to a single person whose gender identity is non-binary along with three other separate definitions.
Merriam-Webster uses the word in a sentence as an example: "I knew certain things about ... the person I was interviewing.... They had adopted their gender-neutral name a few years ago, when they began to consciously identify as non-binary -- that is, neither male nor female. They were in their late 20s, working as an event planner, applying to graduate school."
Merriam-Webster acknowledges that "they" consistently has been used a singular pronoun since the late 1300s. While adopting the pronoun as a non-binary description is vastly preferable for some, Merriam-Webster says, there has also been some debate that it is ungrammatical.
"Much has been written on they, and we aren't going to attempt to cover it here," a post on the dictionary's website reads.
Merriam-Webster also notes it has evidence in its files of the nonbinary "they" dating back to 1950, and that it's likely there are earlier uses of the non-binary pronoun out there.
Merriam-Webster's latest batch of updates includes 533 new words and meanings added to the dictionary.
"Words can come and go in a language, but those that show staying power and increasing use need to be recorded and described," reads a statement from Merriam-Webster.
Some of the other newly added words and terms include:
