J.K. ROWLING has joined a small group of authors whose invented words are included in The Oxford English Dictionary.

“Muggle”, used in her Harry Potter books to describe someone who is ignorant of the arts of magic, is now widely used as a word for the clumsy or unskilled, the compilers found.

J.R.R. Tolkien and Lewis Carroll have also had their invented words included in the OED, but both were dead when “hobbit” and “jabberwocky” were included in 1976. Rowling, 37, is now working on the fifth book of the series, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

An OED spokeswoman said that muggle was being included in what was only the third update of the dictionary in its 146-year history because it was being used widely throughout the English-speaking world. She added: “Normally it takes some time before the word starts to be used outside of its fictional context, but with ‘muggle’ this seemed to happen quite quickly.”

The entry reads: “Muggle n. In the fiction of J.K. Rowling: a person who possesses no magical powers. Hence in allusive and extended uses: a person who lacks a particular skill or skills, or who is regarded as inferior in some way.”

There could, however, be cause for confusion. In the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, published a few months ago, “muggle” is listed only as early 20th-century American slang for a marijuana cigarette.

Explore UK News

• Crime News

• Education News

• Health News

• Scotland News

Times Recommends

• UK regional accents thrive against the odds
• ‘Scarecrow’ wind farms put rare birds to flight
• What an anti-climax: G-spot is a myth