The idiom of Star Trek is gradually becoming a formally accepted part of the English language.

The new edition of the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, due out today, contains the terms "Klingon" and "warp drive" among its 3,500 new entries, according to a Reuters news article.

The Klingons join the "Jedi" in a science fiction-inspired lexicon that has become so common it could not be ignored. But of course, the dictionary — a short version of the classic Oxford word bible — has also added new slang terms such as "get real" and politically inspired expressions such as "spin control."

"Generally, a word has to be used five times in five different places over five years, although something like 'text messaging' got in quicker because it became so widely used so quickly," spokeswoman Claire Turner said in the Reuters article (the full story can be found at the link below).

So could "Ferengi" or "Borg" be far behind...?

Discuss this at the Star Trek message boards!