New Words for Webster

Main Entry: p'on
Pronunciation: \ ‘pän\
Etymology: English, toddler.
Date: 2009
: put on

Main Entry: ‘m’up
Pronunciation: \’məp\
Etymology: English, toddler.
Date: 2009
: come up

Jonathan’s enunciation is remarkably clear, especially for a 23-month old, but he’s still got some cute toddler-isms. P’on is one of his most-used. It’s generally used in sentences like, “Shoes? P’on?” or “P’on? Hat?” or “Gasses? P’on?” He likes to p’on all sorts of things: mommy’s or daddy’s shoes and clothes, towels that become hats or hair, belts that become necklaces, or ponytail holders that become watches. 'M'up is one of the funniest contractions that we hear. In the mornings, Jonathan likes to ‘m’up onto the bed with mommy and daddy. He also likes to ‘m’up the stairs to take a bath.

We give the obligatory parental guidance when he says p’on, over-emphasizing the “t” in “put,” and dramatically pausing before saying “on,” but he holds tenaciously to his contraction. P’on and 'm'up are a couple little oddities that endear him to us, and we can’t help but smile when he utters them.We’ll be sad when p’on and 'm'up are gone.