According to a 2015 report, Eminem has the largest vocabulary in music. The study found that the rapper used 8,818 unique words in his lyrics, followed closely by Jay Z, Tupac, and Kanye West. (Bob Dylan clocked in at number five; Kenny G came in last.)
One of those precious 8,818 words has now changed the English language forever. “Stan,” inspired by Eminem and Dido’s inescapable 2000 track “Stan,” is now listed in the Oxford American Dictionary as a fully legit word after years of popular use. It is defined as “an overzealous or obsessive fan of a particular celebrity,” in homage to Eminem’s fanboy penpal of the same name. (Contributors to Genius have hypothesized that Slim created the name by mashing up “stalker” and “fan.”)
So if you thought mom’s spaghetti memes were Marshall Mathers’s greatest gift to the culture, guess again.
“Stan” is listed as both a noun and a verb in the dictionary, in accordance with its slang forms. So both “Eminem stans rejoice” and “we stan for this addition” are a-ok.
Credits
Text Alice Newell-Hanson
Still from “Stan” by Eminem, via YouTube